On Tuesday, April 29, over 400 parents of the Xavier Class of 2018 gathered in the gym for the first of the incoming parents orientation meetings. Spirits were high throughout the night as parents had the opportunity to meet one another; share hopes, dreams and desires for the next for years for their sons and themselves, and hear from Jack Raslowsky, Xavier’s president. As Mr. Raslowsky noted, the evening had four goals: to help parents grow in comfort at Xavier and in understanding of Xavier’s mission and way of proceeding; to gain insight into Xavier finances; to better understand Xavier’s advancement efforts and fundraising expectations of parents, and to consider some of the challenges of parenting Xavier students in our current time and place. Mr. Raslowsky encouraged parents to work on their ability to say “no” to their sons and to have three substantive conversations with their sons before the start of high school - about expectations for high school, about alcohol and other drugs and about responsible use and expression of their sexuality.

Mr. Mike LiVigni, Xavier’s headmaster noted, “It was a terrific evening. Jack’s ease with parents and his experience dealing with the sometimes complicated issues of adolescence allowed us to explore some important topics in humorous ways and sent a clear message about Xavier’s care for her students and their families, as well as the ongoing work of the institution. I look forward to a great four years with the Class of 2018 and their parents.”