Being an Accountable Citizen

We exist in a community that is full of excellent schools. Walk one mile in any direction from Holy Angels, and you will come across several excellent public and private school. It is one of the reason's Arcadia was recently selected as the best city in California to raise a child.

Considering the ample choices for a quality education in the area, the question regarding Holy Angels purpose in the community should be asked. Arcadia does not need another excellent school. However, along with Annunciation, what we do provide that does not exist elsewhere in Arcadia is an excellent Catholic school.

A component of being an excellent Catholic school, which we have included in our schoolwide learning expectations, is developing our students to be accountable citizens. I can say, proudly, that I think we do fulfill this purpose, and quite well. Sometimes I worry that we do not do enough to improve the community that we are part of, but then I take a moment and think back to all that has been accomplished by our parents and students in just the last month, and these worries vanish.

So what have we done? Since the middle of November we have provided a Thanksgiving dinner for 250 senior citizens; while our primary classes put together complete dinners for 18 needy families. We have had students raise thousands of dollars for the homeless and participate in a walk to raise awareness for this crisis in our society. Our parents have committed to purchasing over 150 Christmas gifts for needy children (in just 3 days), while we have students who have opted to forgo a Christmas gift exchange in favor of making gift packs for Maryvale Orphanage. Our CPTA has adopted a needy family in the community to ensure they have a wonderful Christmas.

This is a three week portrait of just some of the activities that are taking place at Holy Angels. While words are good, I have always told our students it is much more important to live our faith than it is to just talk about it. While I sometimes worry that we are too constant in our appeals to our families, we must also remember that helping those who are less fortunate than us should be a way of life, not just a periodic event. I am proud to say our families do this all year long. I think it is one of the aspects of our school that makes us an excellent Catholic school, and it is a strong argument for our existence in such a great community.