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As we wrap up the first semester of an historic school year, I want to congratulate each of you—faculty, staff, students, parents—on the courage and calm with which you have moved through these challenging times.

There are signs all around us of Advent excitement for the coming of our Savior (and for coming of the two-week holiday scheduled in honor of his birth!).

We spend much of our lives trying to get from “point A” to “point B.” Sometimes those points represent physical places, and we can measure the miles between them.

It is from a heart of thanksgiving that I write you today. The rough ground over which we have travelled these past months finally opens upon a meadow of repose.

During yesterday afternoon’s faculty and staff meeting, Father Lewis announced that, with the Bishop’s approval, the Academy will be known officially as The Atonement Catholic Academy beginning January 1st, 2021. I would like to take a moment and reflect on this change.

As American society inches back to something like a normal state of affairs, we occasionally come upon scenes that have the look of a creature half-metamorphosed.

I hope you will enjoy this edition of the Crusader Times. By taking the time to stay informed and involved, you participate in the Academy’s mission to be an outpost of the kingdom of God and a beacon of truth in an often dark world.

Given the uncertainties of the months leading up to the start of classes, it is hard to believe that tomorrow we will close out the first quarter of the historic 2020-2021 school year.

Our Lady of The Atonement Catholic Church is growing, and we want the new parish families attending Mass on weekends to know about The Atonement Academy, the church’s primary ministry to families.

Classes may have started more than a month ago, but to me it’s always the advent of cool, fall weather that makes me feel that school has begun in earnest.

This morning while observing a grammar lesson in a Lower School classroom, I noticed something. On her wall, the teacher had hung a colorfully lettered plaque that read, “Do the right thing…even when no one is looking.”

Beginning on Monday morning, September 14th, I will once again be offering our scholars my customary handshake as they arrive in the Piazza during carline.

Last week, one of my children caught a cold. Not a big deal, but in the pandemic era that meant staying home and getting tested. Fortunately, all is well.

It was quite a vision this past week to enter classrooms and see our teachers interacting simultaneously with both on-campus and remote students.

Yesterday, once afternoon carline had run its course, the faculty and staff gathered to debrief the day. We gave thanks for the privilege of bringing to fruition weeks of planning and preparation.

As humans, we will from time to time be called upon to endure seasons of real crisis. But endurance alone is not the purpose of human life.

Welcome to the Crusader Times - Fourth Quarter Awards Edition! Congratulations to all those students who persevered amidst imperfect circumstances this past quarter.

It is always an accomplishment to persevere through a long school year. This time, however, required an extra measure of devotion.

We are nearly there! Today is the last day of school for the Class of 2020, and the rest of us are a mere week from the finish line.

We continue to pack a lot of information into our weekly newsletter, all intended to help your family finish the year well.