Back to School Night

While I will be sharing this same message with our middle school parents next week, I did not want to delay in sharing my speech from last night's back to school night.

Good evening and welcome. Those of you who I have not met yet, I am that stranger waving to you in the parking lot in the morning. My name is Abigail Greer and I am excited to be joining you as your new principal for this new school year.

I was raised in the Church of the Resurrection in Burtonsville, MD where, along with my two younger sisters, I sang in church choir and taught CCD. I began my post-secondary education at University of Maryland, College Park (GO TERPS!), where I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, minority in education. Upon graduation I began teaching at Bishop McNamara High School, where I first learned to Love educating “hearts and minds”, a key component of the educational philosophy of the congregation of Holy Cross. My strong beliefs in the holistic approach to education inspired me to peruse a new role in my field. at the George Washington University, I earned a Master’s Degree in Education and Human development in School Counseling and became a national board certified counselor. Upon completion of this degree I took a position at St. Mary’s of the Mills Catholic School in Laurel, where I created their first ever school counseling curriculum. The implementation of school-wide initiatives, from study skills to character education to anti bullying programs laid the foundation for my current role. I had the privilege of creating the first ever high school learning center fair for the archdiocese of Washington and, again, found myself in an educational setting that truly embraced the whole child and the power of a positive learning environment. My influence was present in the building, but limited by my role. In short, I knew I had more of my God-given gifts to share than my role was allowing me to.
It was this calling that lead me to seek the position of Principal of St. Matthias. The reputation of this institution is something I am familiar with and proud to now be associated with. Our new name, the academy of saint Matthias the apostle, is not a departure from our history, but rather a re- commitment to our enduring legacy as a powerful educational institution. I bring to you, this evening, my pledge to continue the legacy.

How will I continue this legacy? By listening, and by aggressively seeking out ways to improve our school.  Last spring, many of you participated in a survey about St. Matthias. You overwhelmingly reported that your child’s learning was being assessed in multiple ways, and that school was a safe, uninterrupted learning environment.

The areas of greatest concern were Curriculum, Communication, and Technology in our school. These areas are ones where, over the last six months, we have made strides already, and continue to look for new ways to improve.

In regards to the school’s Curriculum, the main areas of concern were foreign language and science and math. As a parent of a one year old, the concept of communication as power is not lost on me. I understand the importance of educating our children not only for our local community but also as citizens within the global society in which we live. I am excited that we have implemented a foreign language curriculum for all grades with Mrs. Laura Guzman joining our staff as our Spanish teacher. Her wealth of language knowledge and Puerto Rican culture are great assets to our community.   We have opened a new science laboratory space, accessible to all grades for hands-on learning.  Mrs. McQuillan, in taking on her new role as art and technology teacher, is implementing a technology curriculum, to keep our students up to date in our fast-paced global age.  We have also prepared for a new testing model, to better assess student learning throughout the year, and a new student and family information system, to allow for more and different communications between home and school.  How we communicate is rapidly changing around us. You may have noticed our weekly bridges newsletter has taken on a new format.  My goal for this year is to have Bridges emailed out to those families who access information best in a digital format.  Information is also accessible through our Facebook page and twitter. Please know that these new means of communication will never take the places of the important face-to-face contact.  Continue to call, or set up meetings if you have concerns. 

You’ll notice these areas of improvement are all intertwined, and are ongoing.  No single classroom space, or new machine will magically make this school a better place.  We are all in this together, and as I told some of our middle school students today, I want to remind you that I can only solve problems that I am aware of. 

This week I had the privilege of being a part of an education luncheon, hosted by the Antidefimation League on the important topic of bullying.  The piece of that very informative dialogue that I wish to share with you tonight ties into our improvements, our ongoing direction, and our overall school: the important role of parents as teachers.  You have come here this evening to learn from those adults who are the formal instructors of your children.  As we are now gathered together as a whole group, let us remember your key role.  You are your child’s role model.  We, at St. Matthias, not just value, but expect respect in our dynamics, responsibility from everyone who sets foot in our building, and an overall importance of the whole person.  As you go about your day, remember the model you are for your child.  The words you use, the way you follow rule, the flexibility to show when things do not go as planned, these are all skills you are teaching your children by example.  Thank you for the powerful role you play, and the huge responsibility that parenting is in this day and age. 

I have enjoyed my first few weeks working at Saint Matthias immensely. I love walking the halls, and the school grounds looking not only on what is, but thinking about what has been, and where we together will bring this school. Thank you for entrusting me with your most valued possessions, and I look forward to this being the first of many wonderful school years together.