Class of - Eastside Catholic School

Message from the President
of the Board of Trustees
This year will mark a new chapter in our history. We are fortunate to be the beneficiaries of a new “state of the art”
campus in the fall of 2008. In addition, we will add a middle school as an integral component of Eastside Catholic
School. As we count our blessings, we are comforted by the fact that when we need help, it is there – in the form of a
helpful teacher, a dedicated parent, a committed staff member or a friend who will simply listen (usually in answer to
our prayers). These are some subtle, yet profound signs of the culture of our community.
This care and feeling of family is part of the context of our school, regardless of the building in which it is housed. I
understand this sense of community as a proud parent of Madeline ‘10 and Olivia ‘08. The caring in our community
also can be seen as tangible financial assistance to families, based on their needs. Twenty six percent of our families
received financial aid this year, with a majority of this funded through The NOW Fund, our annual fund. Another
example is our Options Program, which operates on the belief that high school students with special needs deserve the
opportunity, like their college prep peers, to maximize their academic, social and spiritual potential.
I believe it is almost impossible to be unhappy if you are grateful. As Trustees, we are grateful for the courage and
foresight of our founding families and the significant steps they took more than 27 years ago. We are grateful for those
who have led our school throughout the years. They have created the institutional infrastructure for our benefit and for
those they will never meet. We appreciate our faculty, administration, parents and our incredible young women and
men who enable Eastside Catholic School to be the resonant community it is. It will be an exciting day when students
begin attending school in a facility that befits their spirit and potential.
I heard a statement recently that was both humbling and frightening at the
same time: “Our fiduciary duty as a parent is to pave the way for our children
to enter heaven.” I was expecting the last word in that sentence to be “college”
or something else. As parents, spouses, significant others, alumni and friends,
we have the ability to challenge ourselves to be the best we can be whether in
thoughts, words or deeds. Whether we succeed or fall short, we grow, hopefully
becoming something greater in the process. Indeed, we are works in progress all
our lives.
This also relates to our role as Trustees. How do we learn from the past, avoid
complacency, and reach for higher goals? I believe the answer is to accept humbly
and compassionately the responsibility we have – to ensure that Eastside Catholic
School is the best that it can be. I witness this mindset in every board meeting as
we look for “right answers” while respectfully debating an issue or communication.
We are already well into 2008 and are diligently working to finish the school year
on a high note and prepare for the exciting move in the fall. On behalf of the Board
of Trustees, I would like to thank you for your passion and perseverance for the
benefit of this wonderful community. I think Voltaire summed it up quite well when
he said, “Appreciation is a wonderful thing: it makes what is excellent in others
belong to us as well.”
God bless,
Richard Obernesser
President, Board of Trustees 6