Opening Remarks by Susan Tracy

I stand here truly humbled and amazed at all of you who have taken the time to intentionally seek out the best learning environment for your children. I know we all have extraordinarily busy lives, but what is more important than supporting the development of our children? Each parent here is experiencing that miraculous gift of raising a child - none of whom came with a care manual. It then becomes our collective journey to provide what they need along the various developmental changes throughout their lives. This is where you will see that St. Catherine’s Montessori will be a tremendous partner along that journey. 

Maria Montessori dedicated her life to understanding exactly what the human being needed at various developmental stages. Through her scientific research and keen observation, she identified the type of environment that would best serve to support each stage of development. These discoveries proved relevant across cultures and across time. Current research in neuropsychiatry with sophisticated technology is validating the work Dr. Montessori did over 100 years ago without the advantage of such tools.

What Maria Montessori recognized was that each child goes through a process of self-construction and what the adult is called to do, in guiding this process, is to provide a prepared environment rich in physical and social experiences. Dr. Montessori resisted people calling her work “The Montessori Method” because it was not a method for children to conform to. She knew each child was endowed with an inner drive, and the work of the adults was to remove any obstacles to his development. In this way the child can discover who he is as an individual and what he is passionate about. Maria Montessori challenges us as parents and as guides to take a close look at ourselves to see if we might unknowingly be an obstacle to the child’s development. 

• Do we do too much for him? Montessori advises: “Never do for a child what he can do for himself.” Or we rob him of an opportunity to learn.
• Do we have pre-conceived expectations of what he SHOULD learn or WHEN he should learn it?
• Do we compare him to others?
• Do we want him to be good at the things we are good at or love the things we love?
• Do we expect our children to approach and solve problems as we do?

When we leave the child space to unfold as he will and hold back from interfering as much as possible, we will undoubtedly learn much from the child about ourselves. The child is truly our teacher.   

Here at St. Catherine’s we put into practice, in the most authentic way, the findings of Dr. Montessori. We are guiding children to learn to think and to problem-solve rather than regurgitate facts. We have faculty and staff who are dedicating their lives to make a difference in your child’s life and ultimately to make a difference in society – to bring about a peaceful world.

For the last 52 years there has been another element, beyond the amazing guides and dedicated staff, which makes St. Catherine’s the unique and special place that it is. That factor is you. The parents at St. Catherine’s are truly amazing. You give so much of yourselves for your children and for the benefit of all children here. From the very beginning, Sr. Edna Ann and Sr. Shirley recognized the importance of the parents, and the same continues to be true today. No matter what needs to be done, the parents always step up to make it happen. 

As the school continues to mature, many responsibilities that the parents took on have been absorbed into the operations of the school. For example, early on parents used to clean the bathrooms daily. Now we have a service that does that. (I’m sure many of you are grateful for that!) Over the years parents have recognized needs and done what they can to enrich and support our program. When the school needed to change locations, parents moved the whole school over a weekend. When the Castle needed major renovation to be suitable for a school, the parents came in and did the heavy work.

Parents found the land for this campus and raised the funds to build this school. They donated and planted the orchard, they started the athletics program, and they founded the Parent Service Organization and support all the activities the PSO brings to the school. Everything we have out at Japhet Creek has been donated by parents. We are here today because of you! Because of your belief in and dedication to an educational system that you see respects your child and supports him or her as an individual. 

At this time last year we witnessed incredible support for one another as we navigated Hurricane Harvey as a community. It’s hard to believe that in that same year we were able to start a high school, begin development of an environmental land experience at Japhet Creek, and complete a capital campaign that resulted in much-needed new classrooms and a renovated library, while simultaneously forming our next Strategic Plan as a community. Whew! What heroic energy! What an amazing community we are! This fall we will begin implementation of the Strategic Plan which will continue over the next five years.

Thank youfor your energy, fortitude, compassion, belief, and support in every way to give all of our children an opportunity to thrive and find their individual gifts and passions. You can see that all we have today is from you and parents before you. 

In a moment, I would like to show you a short film that the high school students created last year about Japhet Creek, where they participated in an environmental study with the City of Houston. Japhet Creek is our Outdoor Land Institute where the adolescents study sustainable energy, permaculture, and environmental stewardship. They have chickens, bees, a garden, an orchard, a workshop, and some undeveloped land. As you will see in the film, they are also interested in adding goats to the experience.

St. Catherine’s has had the good fortune of being gifted some of this land, and additionally blessed by the many families who have donated furniture and tools. Building materials have been recycled from ReUse Warehouse instead of going into a landfill. Student research on sustainable energy and sustainable practices are core to making the use of the land as economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable as possible. The growth and development of the Japhet Creek land is the significant work of the adolescent that Maria Montessori talked about. They are learning to solve problems collaboratively and find their place in society. They are the ones making a difference in the world. In May, St. Catherine’s will host an environmental symposium where you will have the opportunity to hear about the research our adolescents have been doing. 

And now, please enjoy this amazing film that our high school students created with the help of one of the student’s drones to get some pretty spectacular shots. Thank you!