Dear Families,

Welcome to the last edition of the Headmaster Update for the 2020 - 2021 school year. Thank you for your partnership over the past year. It has been challenging at times and now, with the pandemic subsiding, it has been tremendously rewarding to have our students back in the building for in-person learning. With the restrictions having been lifted, we are beginning the summer in a very positive way!

We will continue to provide school updates throughout the summer months and will keep you abreast of the progress we make on MC's construction projects and exciting plans for next year. Please look for emails and other announcements as we move forward.

The strength of our school has been built on positive interactions and personal relationships and one challenge that the pandemic created was the limited ability to create in-person connections for our community. Virtual meetings, emails and webinars all had their place, but face-to-face interactions and live events were missed. My prayer is that we will be able to return to normal next year with a host of MC community events, activities and functions in the fall.

Several well-known adages were coined during the 1920’s that still have relevance today in the 2020's. Horseracing was a very popular and exciting form of entertainment, with many people placing bets based on the appearance of the horses. Unfortunately, the external information was often inaccurate and was off the mark. For example, the best way to determine the age of a horse is to look at its teeth. A thorough examination of a horse’s teeth will identify the true age and condition of the animal. The adages, “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” (don’t find fault when given a gift) and “being long in the tooth” (being older) were derived from such examinations. Another adage is “straight from the horse’s mouth.” This meant the information about the horse came from the most accurate source - the horse itself!

With this in mind, during the pandemic we had to rely on a variety of digital communication channels including emails, social media, etc. As we move to the post-pandemic future, Malden Catholic is committed to growing a healthy community by making sure any information we pass along comes “straight from the horse’s mouth.” Our official social media pages are our most accurate, up-to-date source of information and the Headmaster Update is our weekly news source for the school. I encourage our parents to follow these official Malden Catholic social media platforms:

If any of our families have questions, we ask that they call or email one of our administrators for accurate information rather than relying upon unofficial channels for information or hearsay.

Have a safe and restful summer!

John K. Thornburg