Dear Cathedral Family,
How are YOU doing this summer of 2022? No, really, how are you doing? Summer is traditionally a time to take a family vacation to a favorite spot or a new adventure, to get your feet wet in some body of water, and enjoy the sunshine and warm temperatures. In the "school world," most hard-working and dedicated classroom educators enjoy some much-deserved time away, while others choose to lead a summer camp or teach a summer class. We also have a good number of non-classroom educators who work throughout the summer, albeit on shortened summer hours. I know many of you work throughout the summer. No matter your circumstances, I sincerely hope all of you have had the opportunity to take some form of a family vacation this summer.
My family and I took our annual trek north straight up US-31, with stops in South Bend, Muskegon, and Traverse City, Michigan, which is truly "Up North." We were blessed to experience the Billy Joel concert at Notre Dame Stadium. He gave a tremendous concert and even apologized before singing "Only the Good Die Young," which is at least a little disparaging to the Catholic faith. I watched with amazement and pleasure as his crew flashed Touchdown Jesus on the big screens during the refrain, which elicited a loud cheer from the Irish crowd. Of course, I thought, Jesus died young, but that was all part of the plan, right?
As many of you know, Cathedral is a school that never sleeps, even in the summer. We encourage work/life balance by closing the school the week of July 4 and by implementing shorter summer hours during the remainder of July. This is necessary due to the tremendous amount of traffic that is present daily on our beloved Hill. Last Thursday was a perfect example. I was fortunate enough to help with traffic duty from 11:15-11:45 a.m. and witnessed the bustling parking lot. Here is a summary: Camp Cathedral is holding numerous enrichment and athletic summer camps, and Thursday was a full day. Cheer Camp was hosting its culminating event in the Welch Activity Center, and the parking lot was packed. The Cheer Camp event, other morning camps, and the High School Placement Test Academy ended simultaneously. We also had 100+ Irish football players on campus for their annual summer service day, and several other fall athletic teams were in full summer mode. And, there is more! We had no less than nine construction contractors on campus. Painters, diggers, construction workers, electricians, and plumbers were working to keep our school functional and beautiful. Add to that the regular 20-40 summer staff, and the campus was rocking!
I tell you this because it is symbolic of the overall health of Cathedral High School. Camp Cathedral is setting new records, which we also broke last summer. Camp Director Anthony Ernst and his staff have spent long hours preparing and executing camps for nearly 1,900 campers. This represents our future, and we owe Anthony and his team a huge high five!
Our Admissions team has been enrolling and welcoming new students nearly every day, following the regular and rigorous admissions process. Our enrollment is up significantly from last year, surpassing 1,100. At the same time, we are mindful that there is an ideal size for Cathedral, and we aim to keep that overall number around 1,100. Hats off to Anna Taul and her tremendous admissions team!
Last fiscal year, which ended on June 30, saw us realize great success from our Advancement Department, led sublimely by Nicole Beasley. The year included the second installment of our largest ever single gift and annual fundraising far exceeding our annual goals. And who could forget the fantastic Top Gun-themed Shamrauction, a foreshadowing of the summer blockbuster, and a nudge for a whole new generation to view the original! (Do we need to revisit our facial hair policy, i.e. Goose and Ted Lasso?) That event, the Shamrauction, is the result of hard work and excellent planning by our Advancement/Events team. Hats off to all of them as well!
Rolly Landeros and his facilities team are overseeing numerous construction and maintenance projects this summer. Facelifts, paint, improvements to the Loretto and Cunningham buildings, and upgrades to parking lots and adjoining ravines are also happening, and of course, our new Johnny Mac's Coffeehouse! While shipping delays will delay its opening, it will be fantastic. Hats off to Rolly and his team!
Julie Barthel and her academic teams have been busy hiring new educators and transforming some key instructional areas on campus. The highlight of this work will be our new media/broadcast area. I will leave that to Julie to share in the coming months but trust me; it will be worthy of our Cathedral name!
Grace Trahan-Rodecap and her team just published another beautiful issue of our Highlights magazine and are preparing for the marketing campaign for the new school year. Colleen O'Brien-Teasley and her staff rolled out new insurance coverage for our employees and continue to ensure bills (and employees) get paid.
With all of the hustle and bustle on campus, we never lose sight of our primary focus: Cathedral's Mission and Vision, staying strong to our roots as a Catholic, Holy Cross School in a safe, loving environment.
I pledge that we will be ready to go in early August, focused on making 2022-2023 our best year yet! I also want to share bittersweet news; Father Emmanuel was elected as the second in command for the Holy Cross Congregation in Rome, a six-year term, which is terrific, except for those of us who love having him at Cathedral. However, he is finding us a worthy replacement and will be here to help with the transition. It is always good to have a friend in Rome. Congratulations to Fr. Emmanuel!
May God bless you and your family, and Go Irish!
Faithfully,
Rob Bridges
