I just wanted to leave some final thoughts on the site. Some of you will agree with me and some of you won’t…but hey…they are MY opinions…don’t like it…LEAVE!
Even though we did not save the Sisters or Notre Dame School, I was very impressed with the passion of so many wonderful people. Your tireless efforts and energy are amazing. You fought a great fight and I enjoyed working with you.
Only the Catholic Church would ignore the demands of hundreds of letters and two thousand petition signatures. I am sure Father Sheehan and the Archdiocese feel that “they showed us”. Just recently their was an article in the Record quoting Catholic Religious figures at the concern of the defection of Catholics to other religions…hmmm…I wonder WHY Catholics are leaving the church? I’m sure it wouldn’t have ANYTHING to do with priests who rip congregations apart AND I’m sure it has nothing to do with the lack of responsiveness by the Archdiocese to hundreds of peoples concerns…right?
Only Pastor Sheehan would consider the closing of a Catholic school…a good thing.
To show their disgust with Pastor Sheehan…almost 150 families (including mine!) left Notre Dame (and this doesn’t include the 60 families that left the previous year because of Sheehan threatening to close the school!!!). Pastor Sheehan considers this “loss”“acceptable”. This has guaranteed Notre Dame’s complete closure. There are about 175 students “registered”…that does NOT mean 175 students will be coming…these people just paid the registration fee…they were supposed to start paying the tuition...but a number of them have NOT paid…so who knows if they are even coming.
If Pastor Sheehan would have addressed the safety & academic concerns that the Sisters had about the Notre Dame children and worked with the Sisters (instead of being a dictator), a super majority of the students would have gladly transferred to the Palisades Park building without a problem…but Sheehan is not interested in anyone who doesn’t bow down and kiss his feet. (Many of you truly don’t know how many times the Sisters put their necks on the line for you and your children. Pastor Sheehan has no real knowledge in the administering of a school. Numerous times, the Sisters fought Sheehan to keep tuition lower, to keep family discounts, to limit class size or to keep certified teachers in the classroom. If the Middle Schools Association, who gave us our accreditation knew Sheehan’s plans…we would have lost our accreditation…and there is no way we will be renewed in 2009! It is a massive project…who is going to do it? And what happens when they see how Sheehan, who is unqualified, making all these inappropriate decisions?) I truly wished that you knew of all the times the Sisters protected YOU and your child’s education. Sheehan is a spiteful man and the Sisters paid with everything they had to protect you and your children…they lost their jobs, their home, their car and they did it all for you. Remarkably, the Sisters wouldn’t change a single thing…they know that what they were fighting for was right and was worth it. Remember, Sheehan only thinks about money…the Sisters only thought about your children. Now that Sheehan has free rein, do you really think he will do what is best for you and your child?)
For those who are planning on attending what is left of Notre Dame, I would truly reconsider. You are wasting your time and effort. It is also going to be extremely hard on your children. Just assuming that ALL the people that are left, attend (which they won’t) the school will most likely gross somewhere around $800,000 plus the rental income from St. Nick’s school and that’s it. Salary and benefits will probably eat up almost 2/3 of that…toss in utilities and supplies and “specials” teachers…its all over. Don’t believe me…than ask Pastor Sheehan to guarantee the survival of Notre Dame for the next five years. You KNOW he won’t because he knows that the school will be closing. (Pastor Sheehan thought the school was losing money last year…wait till he gets the bill this year!) (Hopefully, the Knights of Columbus (who are a great bunch), don’t bail Sheehan out…the Knights should invest in projects that will succeed.)
Sending children to a school that is going to close is harsh on a child. It is very hard for children to make “new” friends when they transfer to a new school. So parents should focus on a plan on how to have their child “transfer” the least amount of times. So in my opinion, the students in Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade…since your child “must” change from one building to the other…why not change them to a school that will always be around so they can be established and comfortable? If you “change” them to the Notre Dame Palisades Park building, they will have to adjust AND THEN THEY HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN next year when Notre Dame closes. A young child needs stability to be successful academically and socially…don’t send your child to a closing school…it is cruel.
If your child is in 3rd or 4th…I would change them now because younger students can adjust and are pretty friendly (but I wouldn’t do that to a child two years in a row…hence my comments to the younger grades.) Have the students in a school that is going to last so that don’t have to go through the dramatic experience of transferring schools when they are older. It is hard on them socially.
For the older grades, it is a little tougher…students are much more critical and “new” kids are a target for harassment. For students in 6th or 7th grade, it might work out if you transfer now because many towns move their elementary school kids to middle school during 6th or 7th grade…so ALL students are “new”…not just your kid…so there will be less stress on your child. (I would especially transfer my kids out of these two grades for two reasons…the sixth grade has only about ½ dozen kids…believe it or not when classes are too small (or too big)…it just doesn’t work…there is a lack of varied ideas and usually one or two children will become dominate. For the 7th grade…they will NOT graduate Norte Dame and 8th grade is so supposed to be special…it will be hard for them to adjust next year in a new school and they won’t enjoy it (especially since they will move again to high school the following year)…move them NOW and 7th grade might be rough, but they will at least enjoy 8th grade and their graduation to high school.
Transferring is very hard on a child. Parents are NOT in the classroom or on the playground…YOU don’t see it. In my position…I have. You don’t want to keep moving your child from one school to another…for the sake of your child I would truly look into putting your child in a stable environment…Notre Dame is NOT that environment.
Why even bother sending your child to Notre Dame? It IS NOT a Catholic school…not like the great one we knew. How is this “building” a “Catholic School”? What priests are involved to guide the moral development of your child? NONE! What nuns are involved in your child’s religious education? NONE! Just because they hang a crucifix on the wall and say the Our Father in the morning DOESN’T make it a Catholic school. A Catholic school is supposed to be a special community…150 families have left, all the support staff were fired and a number of (SENIOR) teachers are gone and of course the two Sisters who guided and led our community are gone. Can you really call this a Catholic school? I think not.
Some of you talk about the Legacy of Notre Dame that the Sisters built and that you’re staying to promote their legacy…there is NO legacy. You cannot chop off the head of an organization and expect it to be the same (look at General Electric or AT&T!). A legacy must be groomed and that did not happen…you cannot lose half of an organization and expect it to thrive. For those of you who “fought” for Notre Dame and NOT the Sisters…you were wrong. All you ended up with is an empty, heartless building (like AT&T…Cingular got the name and that’s it…so did you.)…you did not end up with the Notre Dame that everyone loved and supported.
I have deep sympathy for the remaining teachers, they are not going to have much support. They are going to have a hard year. I am concerned over the things I have been hearing. You have a principal that left a HIGH PAYING public school job for a low paying Catholic school job…this alone should raise serious questions. With Pastor Sheehan pulling her strings, she will be walking on egg shells trying to please everyone (meaning Father Sheehan and the overly vocal whiny parents), I don’t see the teachers getting any support from the administration. The teachers have also been shown that no matter how hard you work…the church will screw you.
I also don’t like what I have been hearing from some parents that are “staying” at Notre Dame. This small group of parents has discussed how now “they can run the school the right way.” What the hell do a few mothers know about running a school? If they can do such a great job then why don’t they get a degree and certification and become a principal? One teacher says out of all the kids who left…she WISHED these certain kids would have left because their parents are a royal pain but of course they are staying. These parents didn’t support the Sisters because the Sisters never let the parents get their way.
A principal’s job is to run a school for what is best for ALL of the students not for just a few vocal parents. The new principal will cater to these overly vocal parents…it may be best for these parents particular children, but it will NOT be best for the school or the children’s education. What kind of parents are we talking about? Parents that complain that a teacher is TOO STRICT…that is a bunch of hogwash…no such thing as being TOO strict…its more like the parent’s kids are too wild and the parents are too irresponsible to discipline their own kids. (Look at the kid that was setting the garbage on fire in the dumpster and the parent was arguing with Sister that the girl SHOULD NOT get punished…there is a good parent for you!) These parents are going to make life miserable for every good teacher…you know…the strict disciplinarian…the one who assigns “too much homework”…the teacher, who left alone by interfering parents, will do amazing things with the children. To the teachers that are left, find a new opportunity or get a darn good union! (And to the other non-vocal parents, do you really want your child’s education dictated by irresponsible parents? Get out while you can!)
I will never donate or support Notre Dame School again. I will never support Saint Matthews Parish or the Archdiocese of Newark. Pastor Sheehan has destroyed more than just an elementary school.
My family and I no longer attend mass at Saint Matthews. So that is 5 less people plus a little less in the collection plate. This was the first year that we did not donate to Archbishop’s Annual Appeal and we will NEVER do so again. My mother in law, who went to mass two to three times a week, no longer goes to Saint Matthews…it took a lot of nagging, but she has now joined us…her check book came too! My next door neighbor also joined us…this surprised me. I have talked numerous times to Bob and Carol about Sheehan and what he is doing and the next thing you know, they meet us at mass one Sunday at Epiphany. So that is two more people Pastor Sheehan lost (and even more important…their money!) I also have one coworker that won’t be sending her child to Saint Matthew’s CCD program (they got tired of all the mandatory crap anyway.)
So slowly but surely, I will encourage every single person I know to leave Notre Dame and Saint Matthews and never to support appeals from the Archbishop. I will also keep an eye on the BOARD OF EDUCATION IN RIDGEFIELD…if I ever hear of them planning on renting the Notre Dame building…they can expect a vocal fight from me. I will never support Saint Matthews…not with Pastor Sheehan there. The people in Jersey City disliked Father Sheehan when he was there and when the people of Saint Matthews wake up and decide that they are tired of having their parish ripped apart…I hope they too will speak up and speak with their wallets. When Sheehan is removed from Saint Matthews…maybe then some healing can occur. But sorry to say it will be too late for Notre Dame, too late for the Sisters and too late for the many families that no longer support the church.
2 comments:
I just wanted to leave some final thoughts on the site. Some of you will agree with me and some of you won’t…but hey…they are MY opinions…don’t like it…LEAVE!
Even though we did not save the Sisters or Notre Dame School, I was very impressed with the passion of so many wonderful people. Your tireless efforts and energy are amazing. You fought a great fight and I enjoyed working with you.
Only the Catholic Church would ignore the demands of hundreds of letters and two thousand petition signatures. I am sure Father Sheehan and the Archdiocese feel that “they showed us”. Just recently their was an article in the Record quoting Catholic Religious figures at the concern of the defection of Catholics to other religions…hmmm…I wonder WHY Catholics are leaving the church? I’m sure it wouldn’t have ANYTHING to do with priests who rip congregations apart AND I’m sure it has nothing to do with the lack of responsiveness by the Archdiocese to hundreds of peoples concerns…right?
Only Pastor Sheehan would consider the closing of a Catholic school…a good thing.
To show their disgust with Pastor Sheehan…almost 150 families (including mine!) left Notre Dame (and this doesn’t include the 60 families that left the previous year because of Sheehan threatening to close the school!!!). Pastor Sheehan considers this “loss”“acceptable”. This has guaranteed Notre Dame’s complete closure. There are about 175 students “registered”…that does NOT mean 175 students will be coming…these people just paid the registration fee…they were supposed to start paying the tuition...but a number of them have NOT paid…so who knows if they are even coming.
If Pastor Sheehan would have addressed the safety & academic concerns that the Sisters had about the Notre Dame children and worked with the Sisters (instead of being a dictator), a super majority of the students would have gladly transferred to the Palisades Park building without a problem…but Sheehan is not interested in anyone who doesn’t bow down and kiss his feet. (Many of you truly don’t know how many times the Sisters put their necks on the line for you and your children. Pastor Sheehan has no real knowledge in the administering of a school. Numerous times, the Sisters fought Sheehan to keep tuition lower, to keep family discounts, to limit class size or to keep certified teachers in the classroom. If the Middle Schools Association, who gave us our accreditation knew Sheehan’s plans…we would have lost our accreditation…and there is no way we will be renewed in 2009! It is a massive project…who is going to do it? And what happens when they see how Sheehan, who is unqualified, making all these inappropriate decisions?) I truly wished that you knew of all the times the Sisters protected YOU and your child’s education. Sheehan is a spiteful man and the Sisters paid with everything they had to protect you and your children…they lost their jobs, their home, their car and they did it all for you. Remarkably, the Sisters wouldn’t change a single thing…they know that what they were fighting for was right and was worth it. Remember, Sheehan only thinks about money…the Sisters only thought about your children. Now that Sheehan has free rein, do you really think he will do what is best for you and your child?)
For those who are planning on attending what is left of Notre Dame, I would truly reconsider. You are wasting your time and effort. It is also going to be extremely hard on your children. Just assuming that ALL the people that are left, attend (which they won’t) the school will most likely gross somewhere around $800,000 plus the rental income from St. Nick’s school and that’s it. Salary and benefits will probably eat up almost 2/3 of that…toss in utilities and supplies and “specials” teachers…its all over. Don’t believe me…than ask Pastor Sheehan to guarantee the survival of Notre Dame for the next five years. You KNOW he won’t because he knows that the school will be closing. (Pastor Sheehan thought the school was losing money last year…wait till he gets the bill this year!) (Hopefully, the Knights of Columbus (who are a great bunch), don’t bail Sheehan out…the Knights should invest in projects that will succeed.)
Sending children to a school that is going to close is harsh on a child. It is very hard for children to make “new” friends when they transfer to a new school. So parents should focus on a plan on how to have their child “transfer” the least amount of times. So in my opinion, the students in Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade…since your child “must” change from one building to the other…why not change them to a school that will always be around so they can be established and comfortable? If you “change” them to the Notre Dame Palisades Park building, they will have to adjust AND THEN THEY HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN next year when Notre Dame closes. A young child needs stability to be successful academically and socially…don’t send your child to a closing school…it is cruel.
If your child is in 3rd or 4th…I would change them now because younger students can adjust and are pretty friendly (but I wouldn’t do that to a child two years in a row…hence my comments to the younger grades.) Have the students in a school that is going to last so that don’t have to go through the dramatic experience of transferring schools when they are older. It is hard on them socially.
For the older grades, it is a little tougher…students are much more critical and “new” kids are a target for harassment. For students in 6th or 7th grade, it might work out if you transfer now because many towns move their elementary school kids to middle school during 6th or 7th grade…so ALL students are “new”…not just your kid…so there will be less stress on your child. (I would especially transfer my kids out of these two grades for two reasons…the sixth grade has only about ½ dozen kids…believe it or not when classes are too small (or too big)…it just doesn’t work…there is a lack of varied ideas and usually one or two children will become dominate. For the 7th grade…they will NOT graduate Norte Dame and 8th grade is so supposed to be special…it will be hard for them to adjust next year in a new school and they won’t enjoy it (especially since they will move again to high school the following year)…move them NOW and 7th grade might be rough, but they will at least enjoy 8th grade and their graduation to high school.
Transferring is very hard on a child. Parents are NOT in the classroom or on the playground…YOU don’t see it. In my position…I have. You don’t want to keep moving your child from one school to another…for the sake of your child I would truly look into putting your child in a stable environment…Notre Dame is NOT that environment.
Why even bother sending your child to Notre Dame? It IS NOT a Catholic school…not like the great one we knew. How is this “building” a “Catholic School”? What priests are involved to guide the moral development of your child? NONE! What nuns are involved in your child’s religious education? NONE! Just because they hang a crucifix on the wall and say the Our Father in the morning DOESN’T make it a Catholic school. A Catholic school is supposed to be a special community…150 families have left, all the support staff were fired and a number of (SENIOR) teachers are gone and of course the two Sisters who guided and led our community are gone. Can you really call this a Catholic school? I think not.
Some of you talk about the Legacy of Notre Dame that the Sisters built and that you’re staying to promote their legacy…there is NO legacy. You cannot chop off the head of an organization and expect it to be the same (look at General Electric or AT&T!). A legacy must be groomed and that did not happen…you cannot lose half of an organization and expect it to thrive. For those of you who “fought” for Notre Dame and NOT the Sisters…you were wrong. All you ended up with is an empty, heartless building (like AT&T…Cingular got the name and that’s it…so did you.)…you did not end up with the Notre Dame that everyone loved and supported.
I have deep sympathy for the remaining teachers, they are not going to have much support. They are going to have a hard year. I am concerned over the things I have been hearing. You have a principal that left a HIGH PAYING public school job for a low paying Catholic school job…this alone should raise serious questions. With Pastor Sheehan pulling her strings, she will be walking on egg shells trying to please everyone (meaning Father Sheehan and the overly vocal whiny parents), I don’t see the teachers getting any support from the administration. The teachers have also been shown that no matter how hard you work…the church will screw you.
I also don’t like what I have been hearing from some parents that are “staying” at Notre Dame. This small group of parents has discussed how now “they can run the school the right way.” What the hell do a few mothers know about running a school? If they can do such a great job then why don’t they get a degree and certification and become a principal? One teacher says out of all the kids who left…she WISHED these certain kids would have left because their parents are a royal pain but of course they are staying. These parents didn’t support the Sisters because the Sisters never let the parents get their way.
A principal’s job is to run a school for what is best for ALL of the students not for just a few vocal parents. The new principal will cater to these overly vocal parents…it may be best for these parents particular children, but it will NOT be best for the school or the children’s education. What kind of parents are we talking about? Parents that complain that a teacher is TOO STRICT…that is a bunch of hogwash…no such thing as being TOO strict…its more like the parent’s kids are too wild and the parents are too irresponsible to discipline their own kids. (Look at the kid that was setting the garbage on fire in the dumpster and the parent was arguing with Sister that the girl SHOULD NOT get punished…there is a good parent for you!) These parents are going to make life miserable for every good teacher…you know…the strict disciplinarian…the one who assigns “too much homework”…the teacher, who left alone by interfering parents, will do amazing things with the children. To the teachers that are left, find a new opportunity or get a darn good union! (And to the other non-vocal parents, do you really want your child’s education dictated by irresponsible parents? Get out while you can!)
I will never donate or support Notre Dame School again. I will never support Saint Matthews Parish or the Archdiocese of Newark. Pastor Sheehan has destroyed more than just an elementary school.
My family and I no longer attend mass at Saint Matthews. So that is 5 less people plus a little less in the collection plate. This was the first year that we did not donate to Archbishop’s Annual Appeal and we will NEVER do so again. My mother in law, who went to mass two to three times a week, no longer goes to Saint Matthews…it took a lot of nagging, but she has now joined us…her check book came too! My next door neighbor also joined us…this surprised me. I have talked numerous times to Bob and Carol about Sheehan and what he is doing and the next thing you know, they meet us at mass one Sunday at Epiphany. So that is two more people Pastor Sheehan lost (and even more important…their money!) I also have one coworker that won’t be sending her child to Saint Matthew’s CCD program (they got tired of all the mandatory crap anyway.)
So slowly but surely, I will encourage every single person I know to leave Notre Dame and Saint Matthews and never to support appeals from the Archbishop. I will also keep an eye on the BOARD OF EDUCATION IN RIDGEFIELD…if I ever hear of them planning on renting the Notre Dame building…they can expect a vocal fight from me. I will never support Saint Matthews…not with Pastor Sheehan there. The people in Jersey City disliked Father Sheehan when he was there and when the people of Saint Matthews wake up and decide that they are tired of having their parish ripped apart…I hope they too will speak up and speak with their wallets. When Sheehan is removed from Saint Matthews…maybe then some healing can occur. But sorry to say it will be too late for Notre Dame, too late for the Sisters and too late for the many families that no longer support the church.
I wish the Best to the Sisters...and a BIG Thank YOu to them too!
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