Principal's Message

Dear Friends,

I pray this message finds you well and, if not, I pray for the consolation of your worries and sorrows.

As the new principal at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus School, I wanted to take some time to share my understanding of and vision for this school community.

As you may know, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus was the daughter of Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, after whom our parish is now named. St. Theresa is known for the idea of doing small things with great love. The idea is that we don’t need to do great acts of love to earn God’s approval; in fact, we don’t have to “earn” God’s approval at all. Rather, by doing all of the small things of everyday life, but doing them with intentionality and conscientiously, we wind up showing great love.

And that is the core of this community: paying attention to the small things and doing what we can to show our love for one another.

I have already had the privilege of seeing our community live out this core value. I have seen the students support a grieving member of our faculty, and I have seen the teachers work with one another to find a solution to a problem when circumstances were not ideal. Last but not least, many parents offer their time and energy to help organize events.

Out of that sense of purpose and with our supportive atmosphere, our dedicated faculty and staff create a learning environment in which students develop necessary skills for a responsible citizenship which will impact their lives. Our school is an accredited member of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, (NEASC) which is proof that our standards are high and our curriculum enables us to meet these standards. Students in grades Kindergarten through 8th work in a blended learning environment so that their individual needs are met and to ensure they are properly challenged. Using a generous grant from PriceWaterhouseCooper, we have renovated a former classroom to be a STEM center where students engage in hands on learning. Also, we have a large gymnasium and auditorium which is used for physical education, sports and musical presentations. 

Our preschool received an investment from the Lynch Foundation which enabled us to remodel our three classrooms and incorporate top-of-the-line curriculum and classroom supports. Our program is focused on proper child development, pushing language acquisition, socialization, and imagination to ensure that our graduates are ready for academic and emotional success.

Fostering community and attending to the various needs of our diverse families is also a central tenet of our school. To that end, we offer an After School Program supervised by our teachers. The program offers a balance of homework and playtime. We also offer several other after school activities, including Chess, Running, Volleyball, Soccer, Basketball, Enrichment Club, and tutoring. Additionally, our students are actively involved in the community by, for example, reading with children in the younger grades.

I have enjoyed the privilege and challenge so far of being principal here at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus School. I look forward to continuing to serve the needs of the current and future students and families of this community, built on small but crucial everyday acts of love.

Thank you and God bless!

Troy Norman
Principal