Blessed Sacrament School new principal: Bryan Penn

Intermountain Catholic

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Bryan Penn

SANDY — Fifteen years after teaching religion and social studies at Blessed Sacrament School, Bryan Penn is returning as the new principal.

He spent the last seven years teaching at Saint John the Baptist Middle School while finishing his master’s degree in educational leadership from Western Governors University. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in geography from the University of Utah.

When the position for the principal of Blessed Sacrament opened, Penn didn’t think twice before applying for it.

"This is my parish and I have always loved this school," he said. "Returning to where I started has been like coming home."

Monsignor Robert Servatius, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish, said he was pleased to welcome Penn back.

"They stole him from us some years ago, but now we stole him back," said Msgr. Servatius with a big smile during the back-to-school night for parents and students.

As a teacher, Penn said, his job was to help the students be the best they can be, and now, as principal, he wants to help the teachers to be better teachers, "so my job is still always all about the kids."

His challenge has been to adapt to the shift, he added.

"I was so used to having the kids in front of me, and my job is now totally different. I am still involved with the kids; I see them every recess and in the hall and interact with them, but not in the same way as a teacher," Penn said. "Helping the teachers is really enjoyable but different. Now I am thinking a little bigger, shifting from my focus on what’s needed for the kids in their classroom to what is needed for all of the kids in the whole school."

As principal, Penn wants to continue developing and strengthening the community.

"One of the strengths that we have [in the Blessed Sacrament community] is that big sense of community, the strong sense of character development, and really focusing on those aspects; increasing, improving and maintaining our level of excellence," said Penn.

Being a small school, having the parents’ involvement, knowing that the teachers can relate to each one of the students, having a handle on how to help all the students to be the best they can be and creating the feeling in the students that it is their school are things that Penn values about Blessed Sacrament.

"One of the benefits that we have as a school is that we all know the kids very well and we can really kind of connect with the kids; one thing about education is really that connection – that personal connection – between the teacher and the student. We have a strong teaching staff that has been here for a long time," said Penn, who, as a parent of two children who have always received Catholic education thinks that parochial schools give students a quality foundation in academics and character development, "especially to be in a faith community."

Recommending Blessed Sacrament Catholic School as a good choice "for those parents seeking that community feeling, for a place that their kids are known, and they are not just a face in the crowd,"

Penn thanks everyone for the welcome he has received.

"I have had a great beginning of the school year," he said.