Parent to Parent Letter 3

Dear prospective Regina family,

    

Your daughter’s high school years are here and they seem to have come upon you so quickly. You want to make the best decision possible for her to have a solid foundation for her future, but you also want her to be happy, and in surroundings that she can thrive in. Here are a few of the things that popped into my head as I had to make those same decisions:

     - The quality of my daughter’s high school education
     - My daughter’s friends and environment
     - My daughter’s future
     - Caring, qualified, accessible faculty / staff
     - A faith based education

     I’m sure these are just some of the same thoughts that have entered your mind as your daughter enters her high school years. The decision on what high school can do the best on the issues mentioned above is a huge one for a parent to make.

     I would like to share with you my different story and how my daughter became a part of the Regina family. I think any parent would be extremely proud and happy of their daughter, as I was, if she started her first two years of high school carrying a 3.9 (+) grade point average, was a member of the national honor society, along with being chosen to be a member of the board of trustees on the national honor society, and by the way, she was the ONLY freshman to make the VARSITY cheerleading squad. These are (were) my daughter’s achievements that she had obtained in her first two years of high school, and the potential seemed endless for the next two years to come. Then came the summer of 2007 when Regina high school moved to their new location in Warren…only a few miles from home. I asked my daughter if she was interested in transferring. I wanted the opportunity to exist for her to attend Regina and continue with a faith based education (she had a parochial education from K – 8). This initial conversation was met with a snicker and some comment about going back to wearing “those plaid skirts.” As the summer passed occasional conversations between my daughter and me transpired. I myself was torn with this potential decision because of my daughter’s achievements and success. I didn’t want to ruin the good things she had going at her current high school. As my daughter and I were driving in the car and with less than a month before the school year began, she stated that if it would be possible, she would like to transfer to Regina for the beginning of her junior year. With all her accomplishments, she stated that something was still missing. She felt that there was not that individual attention at her current high school and she felt at times that the teachers were just trying to get the students to pass the classes, without really caring if they knew the subject matter or not. I told her to let me make a few phone calls to see if we could make an appointment to talk with some of the staff at Regina and if a transfer was possible at this late date. A meeting commenced with the assistant principal, Karen Forys, and the admission / recruiting director, Katrina Sagert. With all the hustle and stressful issues that were going on at the time to get the new school ready for the first day of classes, they took the time to answer all our questions, greeted my daughter with open arms and made her feel like the special someone that she is and told her they would be more than happy to have her as part of the Regina student body. As soon as the meeting was over and we were walking back to our car, my daughter stated that this is definitely were she wanted to finish her high school years.

     My daughter has since transferred, found what she had been missing, is still a member of the national honor society, and by the way, improved her grade point average to a 4.0! Her self confidence seems endless. She is receiving the individual attention that she needs at times and is beginning to actively seek out what universities she wants to attend. She wants to become a pharmacist, and with the help from the staff at Regina, I know they will lead her to the best possible universities to make her dreams become a reality. She had to give up her cheerleading career, but as time passes our children change, and now my daughter cannot wait until next year when she can be a member of the annual powder puff football game.

John S. Chrustowski
Regina High School Parent