Friends,

Welcome back! Our school year has begun and our students have brought life back to the Boulevard. We began the year on August 26 with a beautiful mass for our faculty and staff members in the newly updated Loyola Chapel. If you have a moment the next time you are on campus, I highly recommend you stop by this warm and quiet space.

After mass our faculty and staff set to work on a week’s worth of reflection and preparation for the year ahead. But our school didn’t truly spring to life until September 3 - when the bright, fresh faces of our new Freshmen and Arrupe Division students appeared at BC High. As is our tradition, members of the community gathered outside and waited to greet the boys as they arrived. Whether it was Principal Lewis, several of our faculty and staff, or Morris E. Eagle himself, every young man started the day with a smile and a handshake. It’s the best way to start the year. After greeting our upperclassmen the same way on the following day, I believe I must have received 1000 strong handshakes!

The first week of our year was filled with many powerful and tone-setting moments. From Freshman Convocation, to a blessing of the helmets by Fr. Pat Nolan, SJ for the football team, to the Mass of the Holy Spirit and Missioning of Principal Adam Lewis, every moment held the grace and promise of our mission, and the wonder of what is yet to come.

I look forward to seeing many of you this upcoming year, whether it be on our campus or at community receptions throughout the country.

AMDG,

On Friday, our community gathered to celebrate and worship together. Our school was alive with the spirit of all the students, families, faculty, staff, alumni and friends gathered with us.

It is fitting that we joined together at the Mass of the Holy Spirit to pray for God’s blessing on Principal Lewis. This mass is celebrated at Jesuit institutions all over the globe – a symbol of the worldwide network to which we belong, a family Mr. Lewis represents so well. Mr. Lewis comes to us from across the world. He has served in Jesuit schools on three continents and brings all of that experience in our tradition, in our faith, here to BC High.

We missioned Principal Lewis to the work of walking beside our young men as a guide, a mentor, and a role model supporting their formation in the Ignatian tradition. I know his whole heart and soul are devoted to that endeavor.

But we were all missioned alongside Principal Lewis. Every member of our community is missioned simply by belonging to the BC High family. The education boys receive here prepares them to find their calling and answer it passionately. Every one of our 1500 young men strives for greatness in their own way.

During mass we had several clubs, teams, and groups at BC High process up to the altar with a symbol of their work. Those offerings stood to remind us of the myriad ways in which they are called – as we prayed for their success and growth.

As Father Greg Boyle, SJ told us last year, “BC High is not the place you go to, but the place you always go from.” This year – at BC High, in their communities, and around the world our boys will serve, they will lead, and they will strive to make a difference in the lives of others.

Centering all things we do in the service of others, we held our first Mite Box collection of the year before mass concluded. Our chosen cause for the week was the United Nations Refugee Agency in collaboration with our all-school read this summer, Refugee.

This summer, BC High hosted a landmark anti-racism conference facilitated by renowned racial justice educator and author Jack Hill. Faculty and staff members from schools across New England (including many of our own), advocates, and activists flocked to Morrissey Boulevard to learn from respected leaders in the field of anti-racism. Together we made steps to identify and challenge white supremacy and racism in every form.

On August 13, Jack Hill joined a champion of diversity at BC High, Mrs. Barbara O’Brien Miller, for coffee and conversation with dozens of our alumni of color. These men shared their stories and overwhelmingly praised the brotherhood at BC High for its role in breaking down racial barriers. I am profoundly grateful for their Ignatian reflection and unflinching willingness to share their experiences.

I must commend Academic Vice Principal Ms. Kim Smith and Mrs. Ruth Evee P'18,'22, Director of Equity and Inclusion, for all the work they put into making this teach-in a success. Their tireless efforts have ensured our school’s role as a leader in the conversation and work of anti-racism.