De La Salle Blackfeet School in Browning, Montana, joyfully opened its doors this fall for the 2025–2026 school year, which is our 25th anniversary year. We welcomed new students, our Sacred Stars. The staff and Student Ambassadors guided them into our community with warmth, prayer, and excitement. That evening, school families gathered for Back to School Night, a tradition that sets a hopeful tone for the school year ahead.

This school year also marks a leadership transition: Colleen Dunne, M.Div., has been appointed as president of De La Salle Blackfeet School. She succeeds Brother Dale Mooney, who continues to serve as a key member of our development office and spokesperson for the school, ensuring the strong relationships that sustain our mission.

We celebrated the first school Mass of the year at Little Flower Parish and each week, a different grade level leads the liturgy, taking part in welcoming, proclaiming the readings, and presenting the gifts. This is an important way for our students to learn to share their faith during the liturgy of the Mass.

Community events have also brought our families together, from gym-painting service days to Parent Tech Night, which introduced families to digital citizenship tools and resources. Guest speakers like Blackfeet community leader Moose Edwards and Father John Winkowitsch, OP, vocation director for the Dominican Friars, inspired our students to reflect on their own journeys of faith and vocation.

In September, we held our Third annual Orange Shirt Day – Every Child Matters event. This special event is a day of awareness of the Native American children who attended residential and boarding schools that stripped away their Native culture and identity. This event was live-streamed so friends and supporters everywhere may join in honoring the history and inherent dignity of every Native child.