As the summer ended and a new school year began, Catholic schools across the diocese opened their doors and welcomed new students – and their families.   Recognizing the importance of having new students and their families feel at home and become part of the school family, a number of schools held special events. 

To demonstrate the importance of family and community, St. Rose Grammar School, Belmar, held a special brunch reception Aug. 26 after the 11:30 a.m. Mass in the parish center. 

Led by Msgr. Edward Arnister, pastor of the parish, and William Roberts, principal of the school, new families as well as current school families were welcomed with hospitality and an opportunity for fellowship.   School staff, PTA committee members and current parents were in attendance to ease the anxiety of new parents and students and answer any questions they might have. 

William Roberts, principal of the school, stated, “The brunch is held every year to help those just starting out  in pre-school  or transferring from another school to feel at ease and welcomed into our school community.   He further commented that he applauds the efforts of the PTA in organizing and planning this event and for making the new families feel so welcomed.

At the end of the first week of school on Sept. 7, Our Lady of Sorrows School, Hamilton, hosted a “New Family Dinner” of pizza and salad in the school cafeteria.  This year, as opposed to past years, the school decided to “polish up” their event by matching up host families with new families, allowing adults and children to already have “built in friends.”  The gathering is an opportunity for new families to connect with the school family and solidify the community bond they continue to build each day.

Father Todd Carter, parochial vicar of the parish, was on hand to welcome everyone and offer a blessing.   Newly installed student council members greeted guests and acted as the wait staff.   The student council members wore their school uniforms to offer the new students a chance to see various aspects of the uniform and decide what they might like to wear.  The new students had so much fun they joined in to help the wait staff crew.

The priests, teachers, staff members and PTA committee chairs were all on hand to greet the newcomers and answer questions.  Principal Donald Costantino said, “At OLS we like to say, ‘We don’t enroll students, we enroll families!’  This is but one of the many ways that we support the OLS team philosophy:  teachers, parents and students working together.”