Letter from the Principal - December 2022

December 14, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Students,

I had the pleasure of being at CDH this past Saturday morning to experience Christmas through the eyes of young children. 

The school was decorated with Christmas trees, lights, advent wreaths, and several manger scenes.  Our cast and crew were busy conducting three performances of the children’s play, A Christmas Carol, while our Alumni Office and Alumni Association were hosting Cookies and Cocoa with Santa.  

Spending time with children over the holidays and witnessing their wonder is a sacred experience. As adults, we often focus on the hustle, bustle, and extravagance of Christmas.  When I think back to my childhood, I can count on one hand the gifts I recall receiving…my red bike, a special doll that I still own, a treasured set of books, and a John Denver album.  I know my parents spent time looking for the perfect gifts, and yet it’s the memories of the holiday that fill my heart. 

Like all families, we had our struggles, but the adults in my life were committed to the family traditions I still treasure today.  I remember decorating the tree with tinsel, going to Mass with my grandparents, playing with my cousins, singing Christmas carols with my aunt, sharing extended family meals around large tables,  all the special food, including my grandma’s divinity, fudge, and spritz, the spats with my brothers in the back seat of the car, the manger scene near my grandmother’s fireplace, and the adult conversation that seemed so boring to me at the time. 

I was reminded on Saturday that striving to create the perfect Christmas actually diminishes it.  Christmas is sacred because we join with loved ones to share the wonder of this holy season and celebrate our Savior's birth.  Let’s strive to create those memories for our children. 

Many blessings to all of you this Christmas.

Mona Passman