Dear Parishioners:
Happy New Year! As we begin this New Year, I want to take a moment to update everyone on the process for searching for a new principal for St. Malachy School.
In November, Mrs. Bostrom retired as principal and Mrs. Kennison, our vice-principal, stepped in as the interim principal for the remainder of this academic year.
St. Malachy School is our largest ministry here at St. Malachy Parish; and thus, involving the entire community’s input in the search process for our next school principal is of high value for me. I have pulled together a Search Committee made up of the following individuals:
- Father Danda - Pastor
- John Kiefer - Parent and Business Manager
- Nathanael Rea - Director of Evangelization and Adult Faith Formation
- Fran Ray - Teacher
- Heather Reynolds - Parent and Teacher
- Beatrice Bursten - Chair of the Pastoral Council
- Kate Johnson - Parent and Pastoral Council Secretary
- April Milner - Parent and Vice Chair of the Pastoral Council
- Daniel Wright - Parent and Chair of the Finance Committee
I know these individuals to have a good understanding of our mission and values; so I trust their perspective, openness, and professionalism. However, there are many voices in our parish which can add so much to the search process. In order for everyone to be heard, the following will be taking place…
For teachers and staff, they will have an opportunity for a confidential interview to voice feedback and help direct our search.
For the parish at large, whether you are a school family or not, we will be hosting listening sessions to get your feedback. These sessions will be led by the Search Committee members through a series of guided questions which you will receive prior to the meeting.
You will need to register to attend one of these three sessions which will be posted on the parish website on Monday, January 3rd, in order to keep each session to no more than one hundred persons. All sessions will take place in the school gym; we ask that each family only have one adult representative present to ensure every family is heard who wishes to participate. These are the session dates:
- Wednesday, January 12th from 6:00pm to 7:30pm
- Thursday, January 13th from 6:00pm to 7:30pm
- Tuesday, January 18th from 7:00pm to 8:30pm
As mentioned above, each of the sessions will have a series of reflection questions to respond to in small group settings; these insights will be shared with the larger group at the end.
As applications are received, the Search Committee Executive Committee (Father Danda, John Kiefer, and Nathanael Rea) will review all received resumes, check references, and have initial conversations with candidates assessing whether or not they will receive a full interview with the entire Committee. This is meant to narrow the search to candidates that are of the caliber and quality we are looking for.
After this initial phone interview, the Search Committee will have either a Zoom or in-person interview.
When we get to our final candidates, an extensive in-person interview will take place to identify the candidate we feel best meets the needs and aspirations of our school.
After the candidate accepts the job offer and signs the contract for the coming school year, we will announce the new principal and have a meet and greet sometime before the start of the new school year.
I hope this helps you to understand where we are in the process for searching for our next principal. Please consider joining one of the listening sessions; but please, most of all, keep this endeavor in your prayers.
In Jesus, through Mary and St. Joseph,
Father Danda
