Viking Voice

A Message from Our Principal

Dear Families,

1) The Admissions Committees (Preschool and K-8) have more or less completed the roster-building process for the 2026-2027 school year. In the near future, I will present a breakdown of the enrollment picture in each grade. 

2) Thank you to our students, parents, and parishioners for their ongoing support of our Lenten Mass collections for Serve City. I am moved by this kindness and Christian love for those in our community who live in the shadows.

3) Matt Daniels, the superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, visited Queen of Peace this past week. Mr. Daniels, who has been in his post for a couple years now, is making an effort to visit all of 100+ Catholic schools within our 19-county Archdiocese. 

One among several cool things about Mr. Daniels is that he truly is a man of the people. He asked a lot of questions in an effort to learn about our community and showed a sincere interest in everything he saw and all the people he met. I want to thank Mr. Daniels for visiting, and thank him as well for leading a group of central office folks who have the skill and the will to support us in the daily education and formation of our students.

4) Mr. Daniels and I scheduled this visit a couple Thursdays ago when I was out of the building at a principals' meeting hosted by the Catholic Schools Office. Whenever I return from meetings or seminars,  I usually send an email to the staff with a summary of events. Sometimes the goal is to inform everyone of an issue that we need to discuss. Other times the goal is simply to share for the sake of sharing.

For pure amusement, I always include information in my summaries about what was served for lunch and what I thought of it. I can recall a commentary back in the fall when I sung the praises of a McAlister's turkey sandwich. 

However, I panned the most recent lunch as somewhat meager and uninspiring, with the caveat that I am a highly unqualified food critic who has a pathetically narrow palate and a child's sense of what qualifies as good. To be fair, I'm not ordering chicken tenders and fries at every restaurant I visit, but I am also not veering off script and taking a chance on the daily special.

A teacher came to me after reading my lunch comments and challenged my habits in a way that was really unexpected and memorable. She told me that I am probably missing out on some real delights and some real discoveries because of my safe position inside a warm and fuzzy comfort zone of soup and energy bars. In the process....yes....she may have taken an unnecessary shot at the hamburger buns that I sometimes snack on, but it was all in service to my overall improvement as a human being capable of appreciating the diverse ways that God provides our Daily Bread. 

We all know there wasn't a children's menu at the Last Supper. Tell me those apostles didn't grow in heart and mind that night by consuming the body and blood of Christ! Never before in history had anything quite like that been on the menu. 

We recently told some of our students that they are "made for more" than the mediocrity they can sometimes produce in the classroom. She spoke this exact same language to me in regards to food. I was inspired! 

Have I taken any food adventures in the days since? Not yet. 

Why not? 

Fear.

Because of the silly, silly fear of eating something and then having to deal with the potential inconvenience and inefficiency of not liking it. Because of the rigid and wrong belief that I fully know at this point in my life what I like and what I don't. Because I view the potential benefits as not worth the costs. 

We asked the students last week what it means to have courage. Very quickly, a wise 8th grader declared that courage is taking action despite being afraid of where the action may lead. So, will I have the courage to accessorize my next McAlister's turkey sandwich? Baby steps, I say. It is important, after all, to tend that fine line between between courage (maybe some pepper jack instead of provolone) and pure irresponsible recklessness (mayonnaise). 

Christ in Self. Christ in Other. 

Sincerely,

Josh

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