Psalm 118:24

As we look back on this wonderful year, our hearts are filled with gratitude. It has been a year of many blessings, milestones, rites of passage, joyful gatherings, hard work, prayer, and community. Through it all, God has been with us. The Holy Spirit has guided us, strengthened us, and reminded us that every good thing begins with Him.

As we now begin to look toward summer, we pray that God and the Holy Spirit will continue to watch over all our students, teachers, families, staff, volunteers, and supporters. May this season ahead be filled with rest, joy, renewal, and peace.

This weekend is a very special one for our Saint John Paul II Academy community.

First, we celebrate the joy of our Grade 12 Grad Dinner and Dance. This is a beautiful milestone and a true rite of passage for our first graduating class from Saint John Paul II Academy. Many of these students have been with us since the very beginning of their Grade 8 journey. We are so proud of them, and we love them dearly. We pray that they always remember that Saint John Paul II Academy will remain a home for them. We warmly invite them to stay connected through our Alumni Association so they may always remain part of this family.

We also celebrate the Consecration of Our Lady of the Mountains Church in Whistler on May 31, 2026. This is a beautiful and historic moment for the Catholic community.

The new church has been built through tremendous faith, sacrifice, volunteerism, and generosity. What began as a vision has now become a sacred place that will serve generations to come. Over the past 2 and a half years, the project has faced rising construction costs and financial challenges, with costs increasing from approximately $5.3 million to nearly $7.7 million. Despite these challenges, the parish community and supporters from around the world continued to step forward in faith.

More than 1,000 volunteer hours have already been donated, and many generous supporters both locally and internationally have helped make this dream possible. The parish is now working toward raising an additional $250,000 to help complete the church properly and responsibly, along with several additional improvement projects including landscaping, parking lot restoration, and exterior finishing.

The church itself is being described as uplifting, beautiful, and welcoming, with warm wood beams, vaulted ceilings, and space for worship, prayer, sacrament, and community gathering for generations to come.

We are grateful to everyone who has prayed for and supported this incredible Catholic initiative.

We are also excited to share that we are now selling advertising pages in our Saint John Paul II Academy Magazine, which will be released next month. A full page is $400. The magazine will be shared digitally with our supporters and benefactors, and printed copies will also be shared with key supporters and partners.

We are also looking for Catholic stories, community features, and Catholic initiatives to include in the magazine. There are still a few pages available, and we would love to highlight the wonderful work happening in our Catholic community.

We are also very excited about 2 upcoming interviews for our podcast, Catholic Education Matters.

We will be interviewing Kate Ayre, Vice Principal and Catholic Liberal Arts Consultant at St. Anthony of Padua School. Kate is a strong and inspiring voice in the renewal of Catholic liberal arts education. Her work helps students encounter what is true, beautiful, and good through faith, reason, wonder, literature, history, beauty, and the Catholic intellectual tradition. We look forward to sharing her story and her vision for Catholic education.

We will also be interviewing Mr. John Banovich, a world renowned artist whose work beautifully reflects creation, beauty, stewardship, and the dignity of the natural world. His art has touched people around the world, and we are honoured to share his story with our community.

We also need you.

This summer, we will need parent and student volunteers to help with the beautification of the field and grounds at Saint John Paul II Academy. This is a wonderful opportunity for families to earn Parent Participation Program hours, and for students to earn volunteer hours. If you have time this summer, please consider putting your name forward.

Together, we can care for the beautiful school God has entrusted to us. Every hand helps. Every hour matters. Every act of service becomes a blessing for our students and our community.

May God bless you on this beautiful day. May the Holy Spirit guide our work, our families, our students, and our school. As we look back with gratitude and look ahead with hope, we trust that God is with us in every milestone, every rite of passage, and every new beginning.

Proverbs 16:3