Letter from the Principal

Mona Passman
February 7, 2017

Dear Parents and Guardians,

On Monday, February 6, I had the honor of attending the SEC Music Festival in Roseville.  Our band, under the direction of Donna Novey, and our choir, under the direction of Andrew Bourgoin, performed during the day.  That evening, several of our students joined high school musicians from other conference schools in a Grand Finale Concert.  

The evening concert with the All-Conference Orchestra, All-Conference Choir and All-Conference Band was the culminating event. It was nothing short of spectacular.  All three groups performed separately and at the end of the concert, joined together for their traditional performance of “America the Beautiful.” The crowd was visibly moved. I was impressed by the maturity of sound and quality of music.

While the evening performance was outstanding, the highlight of my day was listening to our students perform and receive feedback from the guest conductors.  Both groups were well prepared and performed beautifully.  I was so proud.  Even so, the guest conductors had insightful feedback.   Our students eagerly welcomed the critique.  It was a gift to witness their pure love of music and learning.

The day inspired me.  I gained an even greater appreciation of music, the arts and learning. The guest band conductor, Dr. Travis Cross from UCLA, spoke eloquently about the value of music education.  While his remarks recognized the positive effects of music education including better test scores and grades, his most insightful comment was,  “The real value of music is that it makes a person better.”  In other words, learning music holds value in and of itself. 

Isn’t this true for all learning?  So often we judge the value of education by test scores or college admission statistics.  Yes, our students earn high ACT scores and are successful in college, but if we focus on this alone, we miss the most important aspects of a CDH education. Each and every day, our students encounter teachers, coaches and advisors who truly inspire them and touch their hearts and minds. Our students become curious about the world around them.  They also form meaningful relationships with their teachers, other students and God. Like music, learning holds value in and of itself.

I am thankful and proud that CDH celebrates the arts.  I am also thankful and proud that CDH values and promotes the true joy of learning.  

God's peace to all of you,

Mona Passman