Dear O'Connell Community,

I write to you for the first time as Head of School, here three weeks into my new job, wishing to share, firstly, how excited I am to have joined this extraordinary community and, secondly, to suggest confidently yet humbly that in spite of the unprecedented and unpredictable nature of the year ahead, each of us—and all of us together—will be at our very best if purposefully looking out and deeply caring for one another. With Jesus' example serving as an impeccable beacon, our Heavenly Father's infinite love the wind beneath our wings, and the Holy Spirit as always by our side—how can we not find individual and Team O'Connell happiness and success this year?!

It is evident to me how excited by and proud of their affiliation with O'Connell the educators in this community are—be that the school's dedicated and talented administrators, with whom I have been working closely in pulling together and managing the many details and moving parts of the upcoming school year, or its teachers, who I have been having the distinct pleasure of meeting via Zoom these past few weeks, department by department. Professional educators, all, each of these fine people gushes in his/her distinct way in talking about and warmly referencing their beloved students—missing them terribly, and whose well-being and on-going development they would do anything to help support and promote. I can't wait to meet and get to know the O'Connell student body, who, of course, sit at the heart of what makes all of us in the education business tick. Trust me, dear students, we educators walk with extra pop in our step when thinking of all the amazing, transformative, and fun goings-on that daily take place in the schoolhouse—as it is you who make our life's work, and journey, meaningful, affirming, and joy-filled.

Thinking broadly about the coming year, allow me to share what I see as three major goals of the school:

1) As we face continued uncertainty during this COVID-19 pandemic, we are committed to delivering responsibly, flexibly, and exceptionally well the very finest academic and extra-curricular program possible.

2) We will advance with purpose and resoluteness the mission-aligned conversation that today takes place across the nation—an exchange that focuses explicitly on ensuring that all of our Bishop O'Connell students feel and experience a profoundly comforting sense of belonging, worth, and value centered on core tenets of diversity, equity, and inclusion. These tenets stand at the heart of the school's mission statement: "to provide students an education rooted in the life of Christ and to foster the pursuit of excellence in the whole person."

3) Here at the midway point of the school's "Strategic Plan 2018-2023," we will carry with us the progress made over the last two years to continue working together to ensure that Bishop O'Connell High School delivers an unrivaled mission-focused and transformative student experience for generations to come.

I thank you in advance for your prayers, both for me and for all of us, and for your support and energy, as we, each of us individually and as a whole, are Knights on a mission. Know, as well, that I am praying for you.

God's Peace,

Bill Crittenberger
Head of School