Dear Parents, Alumni and Friends,
Welcome to our online information resource for Garces Memorial High School. Whether you find yourself just browsing our website or perhaps walking across our beautiful campus at 2800 Loma Linda Drive, I sincerely hope you feel the same spirit of communication, warmth and welcome regardless of the method you choose for your visit with us.
While exploring our website’s many pages of news, photos, schedules, and information, I encourage you to learn more about us and our Garces family. As you do so, it is likely that an overall portrait of Garces Memorial High School will emerge in your mind. I hope it is a portrait of eager young men and women, led by a dedicated and talented faculty and staff, striving in all the activities of their daily lives to develop spiritually, intellectually, and socially. I trust that it is also a portrayal of students who will mature to become future agents of change, and community members who are intellectually distinguished, morally courageous, and compassionate in their service to others. At Garces, we want our students to be known as both “successful young men and women of faith” and "successful young men and women in the service of others."
As a Catholic, coeducational, college preparatory high school, our mission at Garces is to educate youth to fulfill the mission of Christ. Pope Benedict XVI said in his address to Catholic College Presidents, “The Catholic community here has in fact made education one of its highest priorities. Education is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News. First and foremost every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God…” . Here at Garces, all our actions follow his words of direction given to a gathering of young university professors during his recent visit to Madrid, Spain for the 26th World Youth Day, “Always remember that teaching is not just about communicating content, but about forming young people. You need to understand and love them, to awaken their innate thirst for truth and their yearning for transcendence. Be for them a source of encouragement and strength.”
At Garces, we understand that learning is not limited to the classroom but also extends to our students participation in athletic competition and in the arts. We know, too, that our good fortune must be shared and our students are involved in numerous parish and community service projects and activities throughout the year to assist others.
Our never-ending quest is to maintain a challenging, relevant and enjoyable Christian educational program. What worked as an effective method of education two hundred years ago may not be as effective in the 21st century. If this means incorporating different music, smart boards, and computers in the way we instruct our students then we will adjust and do so. But we get nowhere without also displaying and sharing the enjoyment and delight in our being with today’s adolescents because they reflect the image of their creator. We will stay faithful to the message of Jesus Christ and while Garces is a Catholic school, we encourage students of other religious backgrounds to grow deeply in their own beliefs. Our work is just not a job. It is a mission.
A recent Great Schools and Harris Interactive poll indicated that nearly one in four parents are currently considering switching their child's school either from private to public or public to private as a result of the economy. It is a question most of you have either asked or are now asking. When deciding if Garces Memorial High School is the best fit for both your student and your family, I would offer that you consider the following critical factors that were identified by those responding in the interactive poll:
· Academic reputation and College preparation
· School size and Class size
· Safety reputation
· Religious and Moral instruction
· Special programs
· Ideology
· Costs
· Location
As its current Principal and a very proud parent of three Garces graduates, I hope that you to determine that Garces scores high in all categories so as to also make it the best choice for your student. As parents of students at Garces, you will have made that complex and fiscal decision to establish a partnership with Garces, its faculty and staff, in the continuing education of your sons and daughters. As principal, I can assure you that all of us at Garces pledge to give our best efforts in supporting this valued partnership.
If still undecided, I encourage you to make plans to visit us at Garces Memorial High School so that we might welcome you to our campus. We look forward to further acquainting you with one of the great college preparatory schools in the United States.
If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to call me as I both want and need to talk with you. I want to hear your feedback on how we are doing in our partnership and also how we may improve it.
God bless you, your sons and daughters and your entire family this day, and every day.
Kathleen Bears