We accompany kids. You accompany us. 

Brothers and Sisters, 

Take a close look at the photo on the cover of 2022-2023 Annual Report. A really close look…and you’ll see some familiar and new faces gathered together on the floor of Shanley Gymnasium. The cover features our youngest Gray Bees from the Elementary Division all the way up to the Prep Division student-leaders we depend on to run the School every day. Monks, faculty, coaches, staff and alumni — we all play different, yet vital roles in creating a better future for the more than 950 kids in our care. 

I may be the guy in charge, but it takes all of us to make The Hive go. Adults and kids. Religious and lay people. Volunteers and donors. We all share a commitment to a mission that places community over self.  We all recognize that doing what’s hard — rather than what’s easy or convenient — makes our students and institution stronger. And we strive to understand the circumstances and suffering of others so we may live in love, communion and peace. 

Do we always get it right? Certainly not. But we don’t quit on kids — or each other — when one of us does something stupid, falls short of expectations or causes hurt or pain. Not giving up on people and the standards that hold us accountable to one another is something the world desperately needs right now. 

Your support of St. Benedict’s Prep makes that bit of hope possible. I’m deeply grateful to the alumni, friends and teammates who contributed time, help and money in this fiscal year. When you show up for Broadcast Convo or the Annual Scholarship Gala, your presence lets our kids know that they matter and that a wider community of adults is invested in their success. When you make a gift to the Annual Fund, at any level, you give kids from in and around Newark a safe environment where they are seen, encouraged and pushed to overcome obstacles that help them grow into resilient adults. 

When you extend your generosity to St. Benedict’s year after year, you lend credence to an educational model that has defied conventional wisdom on how schools in this country should be run. Community is paramount. Students can be in charge. The solution to bad grades is often through kids’ hearts. Experience is the best teacher. 

On behalf of all of us at The Hive, please accept my heartfelt thanks for all you did to accompany us through this past year. I hope we can count on your continued support in 2023-2024. 

Peace, 

Fr. Edwin Leahy, O.S.B. ’63
Headmaster