Greetings to the Holy Cross Lutheran School Community!
I am honored to serve as the Principal at Holy Cross Lutheran School. I would like to thank Pastor and Beth Bartels, and the members of the Church Board, for the opportunity to share with you today, all the wonderful and exciting things going on at the school.
May 31st, 2022 marked the end of my first year of service here, and while there has been so much to give God thanks for, we also experienced numerous challenges. From the unpredictability of the COVID virus to the unprecedented nationwide staffing shortage, that seems to have affected the education industry more than any other, our team weathered many storms.
Over the course of the year, one of my favorite verses lived on replay in my heart and mind. “Trust in the Lord with all of heart and do not rely on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
We are blessed to have a model example for what trusting in the Lord looks like in Pastor Bartels. Each day, we championed the obstacles and continued to forge ahead.
It is my honor to lead the team at Holy Cross as we serve the children and families of our school.
God has been gracious to us and has brought us to, what in many ways feels like the dawn of a new era. Through the diligent work of so many individuals, we have seen blessing upon blessing. Most notably,
- We have welcomed over 40 new families to the Holy Cross school community
- We have opened the year with 325 students and are still enrolling!
- We have added talented and qualified members to the school team, including two social work interns who will spearhead our social-emotional learning program and help us to build a comprehensive school counseling service.
- We have increased teacher salaries making them more in line with market rates
- We have embarked on numerous facilities upgrades, and cosmetic enhancements including painting the classrooms and have also begun re-branding.
- We have added some innovations to our academic program to ensure that all of our graduates are positioned to excel in high school and beyond.
- We are also looking forward to the annual educator’s conference next month where our teachers will able to connect with other educators, exchanging ideas and gleaning from their wisdom in person.
This year, our school theme is “Making Disciples for Life,” based on Christ’s command to us from Matthew 28:19-20. We are in awe that God has placed us right here, in the middle of a rapidly changing community and charged us to make disciples. We remain committed to adapting, becoming more compassionate, and even more efficient at serving the diverse population God has called us to. In some ways the path looks different than we originally imagined, and yet our journey is exactly as God intended, overrun with occasion to trust God and obey his word, while passionately serving children and families.
Our reach in the North Miami community and across the landscape of Christian education will continue to expand for years to come.
We thank you all for your love, support, prayers, and giving of your time, talent and resources to see us grow and prosper. We are better together and what God does next! I’ll leave you with this verse: “I am sure of this, that He who begun a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” - Philippians 1:6
Sincerely,
Principal Scott