Opening Day of School - Enrollment and Welcome to New Families!

The first day of the 2011-2012 school year is now history. Thanks and kudos to our Principals, faculty and staff for making sure that all was in order, appropriate and necessary preparations were successfully implemented, and students and their families were welcomed with open arms. As I went from school to school, it was amazing to witness the outpouring of love, warmth and genuine kindness being displayed by our OCS staff. It made me proud to be a member of an incredible team who approaches the opportunity to serve with genuine enthusiasm and boundless joy.

As you read in the Messenger Inquirer yesterday morning, there certainly is excellent news to report about opening day enrollment. Our opening day count was 1353 students, a 5.21% increase over our 2010-2011 opening day enrollment of 1286. Incredible!



Please note the following:



· OCS is larger than it has been since we reconfigured in the fall of 2004 (opening day enrollment of 1328).



· This is the 3rd time in 5 years that we have shown growth from one school year to the next on opening day.



· The Kindergarten class of 132 is the largest in 12 years. In 2000-2001 we started the year with 142 in the Kindergarten class.



· We are joined this fall by 188 new students. What an amazing statistic! Of those, 111 come from 101 families who are joining the OCS family for the first time. Please join me in welcoming them to our school system and family. On behalf of our teachers, administrators and staff I say thank you to all who have chosen OCS as their Catholic education partner. I am more convinced every day that we exist, and gain much strength, because of that choice being made by each of our families. The sacrifice being made in an environment where that choice has a price tag called tuition, is awe inspiring and absolutely worthy of celebration. May God shower His blessings and grace on our families through their continued sacrifice.



I appreciate all you do to help us fulfill our mission of excellence in Catholic faith formation and academics. As always, your comments and insights are important to me. I can be reached via phone at 852-8028 and email at ken.rasp@owensborocatholic.org.



God's Peace!



Ken R. Rasp

OCS Director