Greetings!

On June 26, our Bishop Canevin community gathered together for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools to hold commencement proceedings honoring the Class of 2020. After the events of the past few months, our community will never take for granted the importance of coming together. It was truly an honor to recognize a group of students who displayed exceptional resiliency and perseverance while celebrating alongside their families, who became true partners in the achievement, through their encouragement, motivation, and support provided at home.
 
The outpouring of support and advocacy for our senior class that came from parents, faculty, Board of Directors, and alumni was overwhelming. Emails, phone calls, requests and suggestions emerged from all directions as everyone asked: "What can we do for the Class of 2020?"
 
However, with this school year being the 60th anniversary of Bishop Canevin's opening and also the 60th anniversary of our only Catholic President John F. Kennedy's inauguration, where he famously stated, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your county," I am even more filled with excitement, hope and optimism about what this group can do for our communities, parishes, cities, and nation – not the other way around! What fills me with this conviction is not only who these students are, but how they represent the best of Bishop Canevin.
 
Having had Bishop Canevin's mission and core values instilled in them will provide our recent graduates with a valuable companion as they navigate life's complexities. Bishop Canevin students are taught to listen, think critically, and promote truth and justice. Our students are taught to do what is right, not what is easy, expected, or convenient. They have rallied to causes greater than themselves and have the opportunity to be remembered as a heroic generation that used the gifts of a Catholic education to love and serve and build a better world at a time of distress. They are heroes in the image of St. Joan of Arc, who was the age of our graduates, when she famously stated, "I am not afraid because God is with me. I was born for this!"
 
With graduation concluded, we are now turning our attention to welcoming back our students for in-person instruction in August. The experience of the past few months has reaffirmed the importance, significance, and relevance of a Bishop Canevin and Catholic education. Masks may become part of our dress code and student desks and lockers may be socially distant from one another, but what will always remain in place is our Catholic identity, commitment to justice, and pursuit of excellence in the classroom and in the community.
 
Sincerely,

Michael Joyce
Principal