Mrs. Donna Greenhut   Librarian Cornelia Connelly School, Anaheim, CA If you spent time with teenagers this summer, you may have heard the latest alternative rock hit from The Bravery, entitled “Believe”. The chorus goes like this: “So give me something to believe ‘Cause I am living just to breathe And I need something more to keep on breathing for So give me something to believe.”* This song powerfully reminds me of what is so special about the mission of the Schools of the Holy Child Jesus. As a member of the faculty of Cornelia Connelly School in Anaheim, CA for just over two years now, and as a parent of three daughters, I have considered carefully what is so special about the educational approach of the Schools of the Holy Child Jesus. Many schools offer excellent academics. We offer that essential “something to believe” that every generation so desperately needs. Cornelia Connelly clearly demonstrated her understanding that an education was more than academics by modeling a school curriculum with a goal “to meet the wants of the age, while leading our children to true piety and solid virtue.” (Rule S.H.C.J. 103) Perhaps it is more challenging than ever to have the task of educating young women “to meet the wants of the age.” This age wants students to reach high academic standards, requires them to be competent users of complex information technology, and expects young women to prepare for leadership roles in an international marketplace. In addition, as faculty of a School of the Holy Child Jesus, we are called to uphold Cornelia Connelly’s vision by providing the essential “something to believe.” We labor to instill in our students not just knowledge of academic subjects, but also knowledge of themselves, their world, and most importantly, knowledge of a loving God. Today’s world is rife with warped values and artificiality, but we call our students to believe in God and to believe in his purpose for them: to make a difference in the world. This belief is not just encouraged, but expected. Opportunities and inspiring examples can be found in every School of the Holy Child Jesus. The Bravery’s song ends on a bleak note. Reflecting the struggles adolescents experience with feelings of worthlessness, The Bravery sing “I am hiding from some beast But the beast is always here Watching without eyes Because the beast is just my fear That I am just nothing-- Now it’s just what I've become.”* The Schools of the Holy Child Jesus take seriously the calling to educate with purpose and meaning. Our mission statement, quoting the Constitutions of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus (1983 revised, p. 10), calls us “to help others to believe that God lives and acts in them and in our world, and to rejoice in the divine presence.” As we start a new school year, let us be encouraged in our work. What an awesome ministry we have, and how blessed we are to have an opportunity to give the gift of something to believe in…and to grow young people who know that their lives count for so much. *Endicott, Samuel Bingham. "Believe." The Bravery. The Sun and the Moon. Island, 2007. 28 May 2008