Dr. Marinis Monthly Memo- February 2026

February Monthly Memo 

This month, I want to share an experience I had and how it reminded me exactly what we're building here at Calvert.

I just got back from Belize with a group from Norwalk St. Paul Catholic School. Honestly? I went, not entirely sure what to expect. I wanted to see a mission opportunity up close and figure out whether something like this could be part of our students' formation someday.

We spent days at St. Oscar Romero, a Catholic school in the Valley of Peace. I witnessed everything we talked about in our mission actually happening. Students were leading First Communion and Confirmation retreats. They prayed without hesitation. They served without being asked. Their faith was not compartmentalized into religion class or Mass. It was integrated into everything they did. This is what we mean when we say we want to form the whole person.

One evening, we joined them and their families for a Holy Hour. We stood alongside each other in silence, different languages, different lives, but completely united at that moment before the Eucharist. It struck me: this is the kind of encounter with Christ we want our students to experience. Not only learning about Him, but meeting Him through ways that actually change them.

Here's what got me the entire trip: I didn't see struggle. I saw joy. Not the kind surrounded by social media and the superficial things in life, the grounded kind that comes from faith lived every single day. There was laughter, prayer, and a sense of shared mission that appeared very real to me.

It reminded me of something central to who we are at Calvert: we grow most when we are willing to be uncomfortable. We talk about preparing learners not just for college, but for life, for service, for leadership rooted in faith, for encountering the world with courage and compassion. This trip showed me what that can look like beyond our walls. It made me more committed than ever to creating opportunities like that for our young learners.

I came home grateful, renewed, and convinced all over again that what we're doing at Calvert matters. Our faith is powerful, it's living, and when we create the right experiences for our students, it shows up in ways that will shape the rest of their lives.

God Bless & Go Blue, 

Dr. Jeremy Marinis