Dear Parishioners,

I am excited to announce that we have hired Mrs. Kristin Silva to serve as our school principal.

Mrs. Silva grew up in Tacoma and was a member of Holy Rosary Parish. She attended Holy Rosary School followed by Bellarmine Preparatory School. Kristin went to Concordia University on a scholarship to pitch on their fast pitch team. She has been married to her husband Marc for 12 years and they have a daughter, Lauren, who is a first grade student at St. Rose.

Kristin has an excellent reputation as an educator. She is known to be talented and enthusiastic. I remember several years ago I was visiting classrooms on the last day of school. Mrs. Silva’s students were in tears that the school year was over and that they would not have her as a teacher anymore. This is one of many signs I have seen that her students love and appreciate her.

Mrs. Silva has also been one of our most generous teachers. She repeatedly puts in extra time and energy, often going above and beyond what is expected of her. She has successfully taught students with a variety of needs and has helped many students and families discover what they need to succeed as life-long learners. I am confident that our school will be in good hands moving forward.

She also loves our community. Here is what she wrote to our school families when we announced our decision to hire her:

St. Rose has become my home. It is the place where I enjoy watching students grow and thrive from pre-K until they graduate 8th grade. It is the place where my family and I have the opportunity to grow and share our faith in a variety of ways. It is the place where I have learned to provide students a positive learning environment, to cultivate leaders, to foster partnerships with parents, and to be an example of God’s love for others. It is now the place that I am honored to have an opportunity to serve as principal.

The Principal Search team, chaired by Kay Purcell, did a great job soliciting input from a variety of stakeholders to identify the school’s needs and then directed a process that was able to fit recognize which of our candidates fit these needs. The search team believes that Mrs. Silva’s history at our school will be an asset to her and allow for a seamless transition.

Kristin is a strategic thinker and already has several goals for our school. In her letter to parents she said,

Among the goals I have for our school is to continue to build a positive learning environment that meets the needs of all learners. One of my passions as an educator is building strong relationships between parents, teachers, administration and the parish. Having a concrete foundation of clear and effective communication will allow us all to contribute to the quality education of our future leaders and world changers.

I would personally like to thank Kristin for applying for this position and accepting the offer to serve. I also want to express my gratitude to the other applicants who stepped forward to offer their services to our school. I greatly appreciate the hard work the members of our Principal Search team put in and their commitment to our school.

Finally, I would like to thank our outgoing principal, Mrs. Cathy Strader, and the rest of our faculty for their devotion to our school. They have given Mrs. Silva a strong foundation to build on and have set her up for success.

Please pray for our school as we continue on into the future!

Fr. Bryan