Welcome

Dear Friends,

Though we still have a few weeks to go before the close of the academic year, there are already a number of memorable events that stand out in my mind. One in particular I share with you by way of a welcome.

I joined our seventh graders earlier this year on a visit to Oak Park Elementary School, where they go each month to work with the first-grade students as part of our school’s community service program. In the course of the hour we spent there, faced with the ambitious goal of helping seven year-olds write folk tales, our students rose to the occasion and successfully guided their young understudies through their lesson.

The stories themselves were impressive enough—tales of saintly monkeys, timid lions, and bifocal-wearing bears. And afterwards, as we were leaving to return on foot to our campus just a few blocks away, one of our students offered to type the first graders’ stories and return them by email as a gift. A simple enough gesture, perhaps, but it stands out in my mind as the kind of gesture—wanting to do more—that distinguishes Nativity students from most of the middle school students I’ve had the honor of working with.

The aspiration to go above and beyond—what Saint Ignatius called the ‘magis’ (the more)—is, I believe, something that is borne from the collective effort, love, and care that our students learn from our teachers, from our benefactors and trustees, and from our mentors and tutors, all of whom go above and beyond by giving so generously to our families and students each year through their time and talent and treasure.

Ignatius asks us to pray often for that spirit of giving by asking God, “What more can I do to serve others?” This spirit of magis is what I hope our Nativity community continues to strive for in all we do. And it is what I hope inspires each of you as you review the pages of our website.

Whether you are learning about us for the first time or a member of our community already, we welcome you to call or to visit at any time—we are here to help answer your questions and to encourage your involvement.

And as always, we ask that you help spread the good news of our success.

Brendan Sullivan
Principal