Educational Appeal Letters
From the Pastor
Dear Friends,
Several years ago we marked the centennial of the founding of St.Mary Nativity Catholic School. The vision of Fr. George Violich in 1907 was to provide the best education for the children of the parish. Throughout its history, St Mary Nativity has remained at the forefront of education.
Over the years, St. Mary Nativity School has had a number of “firsts.” The first kindergarten in Joliet (1936); the first Catholic grade school gymnasium (1954); the first air conditioned school (1970); the first full-day kindergarten (2002); the first five-day pre-kindergarten (2005). Likewise, the academic program has adapted and changed with the needs of each new generation of students.
The use of cutting-edge classroom technology is evident throughout the curriculum, both at our main campus on Broadway St. and at the Holy Cross Early Learning Center. The use of computers, video projectors, wireless laptops, DVDs, Power Point© presentations and Smart Boards© are quite familiar to our teachers and students. Typewriters are now a past memory. Desktop publishing is now used by students of every grade level when doing homework and preparing classroom reports.
For a century, St. Mary Nativity has been forming leaders for our Joliet community and beyond. The diversity of careers represented among our alumni is truly amazing. The skills learned and the foundations developed at SMN now reach overseas where our graduates excel in government service and international corporate business.
As we begin our second century of Catholic Education, I join our principal, Mrs. Joan Matejka, the members of our Parish Council, our School Board and our wonderful faculty in reaffirming the commitment made by the pioneering families of St. Mary Nativity a hundred years ago who had the foresight to establish a parish school that would reap untold benefits for generations and generations of children.
Today we are beginning something new at St. Mary Nativity. Representatives of our School Board and Parish Council will share details about the St Mary Nativity School Educational Appeal. Your gifts to this appeal will help to continue the successful legacy of Catholic Education that has been provided by our parish for over a century.
You are always welcome to come and experience first-hand the great things happening at SMN. Give us a call to arrange a visit. You’ll see why we say "Every Child Achieves More" at St. Mary Nativity School.
May God bless you for your prayers and support.
Sincerely yours,
Fr. Chris Groh
Pastor
From the School Board and Parish Council
Dear Friend of St. Mary Nativity School,
In 2007 we reached a milestone for St. Mary Nativity School, 100 years of providing a Catholic Education in Joliet! In celebrating the centennial of the founding of the parish school by dedicated Croatian people, we continue a successful tradition held dear for many generations of parishioners: A dream to be able to provide a strong, Catholic and academic foundation for children for years to come.
As we enter into our second century, it is our desire to renew the commitment of the early pioneers of our parish who so unselfishly labored to secure the future of St. Mary Nativity School. We valued our education, abundant in solid faith, academics, heritage, tradition, and values. The St. Mary Nativity School Board and Parish Council want to provide secure “financial health” to uphold all that we hold dear. While we have set our goals high, our enthusiasm and vision are even higher.
Unanimously we agreed that it is important to continue the financial support of our school. The strategy was simple – multiply our numbers by including past students, graduates, parishioners, friends and other interested individuals and companies, and request their help through annual contributions. Thus, the birth of the St. Mary Nativity School Educational Appeal.
We wish to supplement the income from tuition, school fundraising and parish support to help our students receive an outstanding education. Judging by our record, we have been highly successful in developing state-of-the-art science and computer labs, providing music, art and physical education, advanced math and Spanish classes at the sixth, seventh and eighth grades, an Early Learning Center at the Holy Cross campus offering full-day Kindergarten, a five-day Pre-Kindergarten and 3 and 4 year old pre-school, and providing a morning and afternoon extended daycare program. All of these are essential for the preparation for the success of each of our graduates.
We are requesting you to do four things:
1. Pray that the school year will be fruitful for our
students and faculty.
2. Support our school by sharing the great opportunities available at St. Mary
Nativity School with your neighbors and friends.
3. Celebrate over 100 years of successful education with a donation toward our
School Educational Appeal.
4. Join with us with the knowledge that your generosity toward our greatest resource,
our students, will be returned a thousand fold to our society in the future.
Best wishes and most heartfelt thanks!
Sincerely and respectfully,
Nancy A. Mitok
The St. Mary Nativity School Board
Frederick Hafner, SMN ‘62
The St. Mary Nativity Parish Council