Welcome

Dear Saint Catherine of Siena School Family,

Sometimes, my grandmother drank coffee from a mug but usually, she drank it from a tea cup. If you needed her   wisdom or prayers on any given day, you just needed to open her kitchen door and with a jingle of bells that hung   there, you would probably find her sitting at her kitchen table, a tea cup in her hand reading a book, the newspaper,  or in the midst of a crossword puzzle. In an instant, she would be completely present to your heart. As we look forward to the beauty of our new school year, I have been thinking about her a lot, especially since encountering your school motto: See Christ in others and Be Christ for others. I think my grandmother learned that at a very young age.

She would be so excited that I am going to have the opportunity to get to know your child and family this year at SCS.  She always took care of us all in a myriad of ways and so, she would be eager for me to support our dedicated faculty and staff as they implement rigorous, faith-filled curriculum. She would be thrilled about not only the new Science Technology Religion Arts & Music (STREAM) program but especially the rich tradition of our school community forming our children to be good citizens and better Catholics by Seeing Christ in others and Being Christ for others. As we look towards the new year, I am looking forward to getting to know as much about our school community as possible. I am eager to meet with faculty, staff, students and families to find out what is working and what can be strengthened. I look forward to listening, as my grandmother always did, and then, working to integrate those thoughts and ideas into our plan for this year and for the years to come.

Please know that I join our Catholic community as a former Kindergarten and First Grade teacher, founding Board Trustee of an independent school in NY, previous early childhood administrator in Greenwich, Connecticut, founding Catholic School Director in Boston and most recently as a Principal for two urban schools in Rhode Island. I look forward to leading SCS as a leader in innovative, rigorous, Catholic Education, building on the great work achieved by Mrs. Russo over these past nine years. I am especially looking forward to the rituals and routines of our school community and eager to greet students each morning in the car line with Mrs. Noah in anticipation of each grace-filled day.

My grandmother lived to be 100 years old but no doubt, when she was young, she knew the importance of relationships. As an adult, I now know that her relationship with and faith in Christ was her heart. She nurtured that relationship gently with prayer and the way that she tenaciously read the bible each day. It was very much like the way that she honored her relationship with each member of our entire large family, including my parents and 5 siblings.  I joyfully look forward to the opportunity of beginning a relationship with your child, family and all of our faculty, staff, board and clergy this year. Thank you to Fr. Donohoe for entrusting me with this chapter in the history of SCS; his kind presence is a blessing to this Parish. I hope to emulate my grandmother and truly listen. Thank you in advance for the possibility of having a cup of tea or coffee with me this summer as we begin our journey to be the best Catholic learning community that we can. See Christ in others and Be Christ for others.

With Joyful Anticipation,

Beth Tanner, MS Ed