To: the whole Cistercian Family
From: Fr. Bernard (Acting Headmaster)
Re: organizing the relief effort for the hurricane victims
Date: September 1, 2005

The effects of the recent storm have rippled through the school communities affecting all of us. In just the ISAS member schools in the New Orleans area there are some 8,000 plus students, along with 1,100 faculty and staff members who have been displaced, their schools and homes severely damaged or totally destroyed. Many have sought temporary refuge in the Dallas -Ft. Worth area. The heads of the ISAS schools had an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss how best to coordinate our efforts so that the needs requested could be met with the help offered.

A clearing-house web-site was established, www.isasw.org where the first heading provides the link to the relief effort. Displaced persons are directed to this site to sign up. The hope is that by next Tuesday, when the school heads will again convene, that the specific needs and numbers will be better known.

In the coming weeks and months the Cistercian family will reach out in several ways to help those affected by this disaster. As it stands presently Cistercian will first participate in this relief effort by coordinating our available help the following way:

a) Each Form Master, either himself or through one of the Form Mothers, will send out a memo containing this information to his Form, asking who is capable of offering what: we are especially looking for temporary shelter for families with school age children, but other help is also welcome. Available help will then be logged on an easily sortable database that can be forwarded via e-mail.

b) Each form will forward the list to the President of the Parents’ Club, Meg Squiers, fivesquiers@comcast.net no later than 3:00 p.m. on Monday, 9/5, for consolidation. By that evening we would like to know what the Cistercian Community can offer to those in need.

c) At the meeting on Tuesday, along with Mr. Novinski and Mr. Haaser we will try to offer to match our help with the needs.

While we really do not have any openings in any of our classes it might be incumbent upon us to admit, on a temporary basis lasting no more than a semester, perhaps one or two boys to selected forms.

Other types of help, non academic in nature, of course can be offered, acted upon and performed without having to go through school channels. 

Our prayers are with the victims.