September, 2023

Dear IHM Families:

My name is Patrick Foley, and I am the principal of IHM.

If you are new to Immaculate Heart of Mary School, welcome!  If you haven’t figured
it out already, you made a great decision to join the IHM community.

Our primary mission as a Catholic elementary school is to educate our students in
the Catholic faith.  That comes first, and all else flows from that.

There is no true education without God at the center.  While much of the rest of the
world seems to be adrift or in chaos, we at IHM can say we have our feet firmly
planted on the ground.  We are grounded in the Truth and timeless Wisdom of God. 
We know who we are, and we know why we are here.

My goal as principal is to help build a community where our Catholic faith is a lived
faith.  We are all children of God, and we should act that way.  We are expected to
love and forgive others while we, at the same time, hold ourselves accountable to
God and to each other.

We are here to learn how to live well and how to work with others peacefully and
productively.  We are here to discover and develop our talents, and practice and
perfect the Christian virtues, so that we can become better, more effective disciples
of Christ. Our goal is sainthood and, with God’s help, that is an attainable goal. 

We have a great staff, a great community, and great kids. I cannot say enough about
our Home and School Association. They have been working hard all summer and
have filled the calendar with fun events and fundraisers which directly benefit the
students and staff of IHM. I appreciate their support. Imagine what they could do
with your help. If you haven’t already signed up to help, please consider doing so.

It's going to be a great year. All shall be well, because God loves us. We ask Mary,
Our Mother, to continue to watch over Her school, and we ask for the continued
intercession of Saint John Neumann and Saint John Baptist De La Salle. Keep me in
your prayers and know that you are always in mine.

Patrick Foley
Principal, Immaculate Heart of Mary School