Letter from the Principal

June 13, 2018

Dear Families,

Last Sunday, I attended the barbeque that our Admissions Office hosted for incoming 9th graders and couldn’t help but think about all the exciting possibilities for these new Raiders. They can find inspiration from the many CDH accomplishments this past year.

Take a few moments to enjoy just a few of our accomplishments listed below. We have so much to be proud of at Cretin-Derham Hall and I congratulate the CDH community on all of these highlights and so much more.

• We opened a new Robotics Studio, providing a dedicated learning lab for students.

• The CDH Band earned multiple excellent and superior ratings for ensemble and solo performances. 
  
  
• The CDH Choir earned excellent and superior ratings during the Large Group Vocal Contest.

• The CDH Theater program earned 11 Hennepin Theater Trust Spotlight awards for outstanding performances and production for the spring musical of 42nd Street. One student-actor was selected for the Hennepin Theater Trust Triple Threat (acting, singing, dancing) Award, one of four in the state. 

• Sixteen years of Empty Bowls which has donated a grand total of $138,000 to Heifer International over those years; that’s 15,000 ceramic bowls! 

• Ninety-seven percent of the Class of 2018 will attend four-year or two-year colleges/universities.

• CDH successfully competed in DECA with 20 students advancing to the state competition.

• Student-athletes continued to bring Raider spirit to their competitions, with several teams/individuals competing in post-season, including our Boys Basketball team winning the state title for the first time in 25 years. Additionally, the Girls Basketball team went to state and won in the consolation round; the Girls Lacrosse team made it to the section title game; members of the Boys Swim & Dive advanced to the state meet; members of the Wrestling team advanced to state; and other teams performed well in sections.

• Students organized the second largest high school blood drive in Minnesota for Memorial Blood Center.
  
  
• One student qualified for the State Speech competition.

• Students made yearlong commitments to service at dozens of service sites around the Twin Cities as part of classes, in addition to service day opportunities at Habitat for Humanity, Leap Forward for Children, Dorothy Day, and others.

• Founders’ Day focused on education and the recognition of students and faculty for living out the values of our founders. A special assembly was held focusing on the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and the Christian Brothers.

• CDH made one of its strongest showing at State History Day when 22 projects, representing 37 students, qualified for regionals. Four projects placing in the top five of regionals. One team advanced to the national competition.

• JROTC maintained its esteemed status as an Honor Unit with Distinction.

• Students hosted a daylong Justice Week Summit for other local high schools during 2018 Justice Week, focused on “Embracing Ishmael.” 

• A Raider Model UN team earned an Honorable Mention for the best delegation in the Security Council at the Model UN Conference this past spring.

• Students traveled on Justice Trips to Guatemala, Arizona, and Costa Rico.

• Raider athletes and staff continued the long tradition of helping neighbors with Fall Yard Clean-Up.
  
  
• Two seniors earned a perfect score on the ACT test.
  
  
• A number of student-athletes and teams received All-American Academic and All-State Academic Awards.
  
  
• A CDH team was the runner-up in the inaugural State Business Analytics Competition at Hamline School of Business.
  
  
• Work has begun at CDH to some infrastructure projects this summer, including enhanced security, IT network, lighting, and HVAC system.

I’d like to give a shout out to the many teachers, advisors, coaches, mentors, parents, and students who have accomplished so much this year. Thank you to our staff for your continued commitment to our students. To our parents and guardians, thank you for placing your trust in us. To our students, thank you for your spirit and hard work. And to those students, parents, and staff not returning to CDH, we wish you many blessings.

Raider pride was certainly well-deserved this year, with so many more individual and community successes. Congratulations to all!

Enjoy the summer!