Dear Marist School Community,

We are approaching 125 years of Marist education in Atlanta. As we look toward celebrating that milestone next school year, we are reaffirming and elevating our spiritual and educational inheritance from the Society of May. The Marists have kept our school’s unique spirit and charism moving ever-forward since 1901. Now it’s our turn, as you will read about in the feature story, which highlights our new strategic plan. This plan will guide our next steps, inform a comprehensive campus master plan, and lead us toward a transformed campus experience that nurtures faith, builds connections, and empowers student growth.

Being Marist is something no other school in Atlanta can claim, and our “Maristness” is deeply rooted in the history of the Society of Mary, which began in France. This past summer, we delved into our origin story when we hosted a North American Marist Educators Conference, and we are sharing this knowledge with current parents through a new Mission Groups Initiative. Our Marist priests are helping us along the way, and we are so grateful for their steady presence. We are connecting the dots between our Marist history and how we “do” school today, and we are building relationships with fellow Marist schools around the world as we do so. You can read about our Marist exchange programs as just one example of how we leverage our broad Marist network. Overall, learning about our origins has been a fascinating exploration that is adding immeasurable strength to the formative education we offer our families.

Our Marist community is so special, so generous (read about our 2025 St. Peter Chanel Award recipient), and bonded in a way that, to some, may be hard to comprehend. We can, of course, attribute it to the constant protection of Jesus’ mother, Mary, who models the discipleship, humility, and servant leadership we teach to our students. We created a new tradition to symbolize for our students Mary’s loving care and our continued prayers. The names of our most recent graduates are kept in a locket that resides on the Mary statue in our new Mary’s Garden, which was completed in 2025 through the generosity of our community. Read more about our newest alumni  and join us in praying for them.

There’s lots more in this issue, so I hope you enjoy rekindling your Marist memories as you read.

You have my best,

J. D. Childs