THE ST. VINCENT FERRER SCHOOL HISTORY

St. Vincent Ferrer Parish had its beginning in 1931. At that time, there were thirty-five registered families. Father William McIntyre, OiP., served as Pastor and planner. As he saw the number of families increasing, he deemed it necessary to educate the children of St. Vincent Parish in a Catholic environment. Father McIntyre wrote to Mother Samuel, Mother General of the Sinsinawa Dominicans, to ask for Dominican Sisters to run the school. Sister Ramona McAllister, O.P., was selected to be the first principal. Sister Ramona not only was responsible for running the school but also doubled as the fifth and sixth grade teacher. Sister Marie William Cahill, O.P., was the third and fourth grade teacher while Sister Virginia, O.P., taught first and second grade.

St. Vincent Ferrer School formally opened its doors on September 10,1940. The school building consisted of four classrooms, but only three were used for school. The fourth room served as a winter chapel for the Parish. Forty-four students were enrolled at the new St. Vincent Ferrer School.

The first years brought many challenges and opportunities for the St. Vincent Ferrer Community. Paying for the new school was one of the biggest challenges. Due to the economic difficulties of the Depression of the thirties and the financial uncertainty of the forties, there was a shortage of money, it was decided that students would be charged fifty cents per month for their education. However, if this fee presented a problem for parents, they were asked to see their pastor.

Another challenge that the Sisters faced was lack of housing. Due to the shortage of funds, a convent could not be built. The Sisters lived at Rosary College. In inclement weather, the Parish paid for their taxi. The initial school year brought many "firsts" to the school. On October 27, 1940, Bishop Bernard J. Shield dedicated St. Vincent Ferrer School. At a solemn high mass, the entire Parish community prayed that their new school would flourish. The first May Crowning was held on May 25,1941 with the whole school taking part in it. By June of that year, enrollment had grown to seventy-six students. It appeared that the prayers offered in October were being answered.

As Sister Ramona prepared to open school for the second year, she was faced with another challenge. Enrollment had soared to one hundred and forty students. The school now had to use the extra classroom for the seventh and eighth graders. St. Vincent Ferrer School began its second year with four teachers, four classrooms and almost one hundred more pupils than the previous year.

During that second year, it was decided that the Catholic children attending public schools should have the opportunity to receive the teachings of the Catholic Church. In March of 1942, St. Vincent's held its first C.C.D. classes for children who were preparing for the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Confirmation.

In that same month, Father McIntyre decided it was time to begin another building fund Due to the increased enrollment, plans were made to include two additional classrooms and a gymnasium. By June, enrollment had grown to one-hundred and seventy six students Unfortunately, Father McIntyre did not live to see the first class graduate or the building project completed. Father William Mclntrye died in September of 1942.

Fall of 1942 was the beginning of a banner year for the young school. The faculty now numbered six -- five Dominican Sisters and the very first lay teacher, Miss Rosemary Gannon. Enrollment peaked at 189 pupils. The school now had six classrooms and a gymnasium. on June 9,1943, St. Vincent Ferrer held its first graduation ceremony. Thirteen students were the proud recipients of St. Vincent Ferrer Diplomas.

As the forties progressed, enrollment kept rising. Additional classrooms were built and more teachers were added to the faculty. Already St. Vincent Ferrer School was making a name for itself in both the fields of academics and athletics. The basketball team brought the first championship trophy to the school in 1944. in 1945, the students were invited to compete in The Chicago Tribune "Quizdom" contest. of the twenty schools competing for the coveted trophy, it was the students of St. Vincent's who brought it home.

During the fifties, the "baby-boomers" swelled the enrollment to reach over 900 students. The final additions to the convent and the school were completed. By 1957, the school had twenty-two teachers, a gym which now was used for gym classes, and a library. The school's first paper, The St. Vincent Chronicle made its debut in February of 1959. "Elvis Presley", "New Hairdos" and "Life After Graduation" were some of the featured articles.

The sixties brought many changes. With the influence of "The Beatles" it was sometimes hard to distinguish the boys from the girls due to their hairstyles The St. Vincent Ferrer School Board was formed. The families in the parish had reached sixteen hundred but school enrollment started to decline. Sister John Vianney,O.P., Principal at the time, blamed two factors for this decrease. Sister John wrote, "Children in the families of homeowners in the vicinity

of St. Vincent Ferrer have grown beyond grade-school age. However, I fell that the second factor is that many of the parents no longer have a sense of obligation to the Parochial School but are attracted to a newer, more elaborately equipped public school. Enrollment in the C.C.D. classes exceeds 220 students which most definitely proves my point."

In the seventies, many innovations in education were introduced. New terms such as "learning communities", open classrooms" and "units" had to learned by all. In 1972, Ms. Virginia Henry became the first lay principal. Under her leadership, St. Vincent's continued to flourish both academically and in the field of sports.

When the eighties arrived, the cost of private education was escalating. Candy Sales and the first Walk-A-Thon were introduced to help raise funds. To keep class sizes manageable, Mobile Classrooms appeared on the playground. Junior-Kindergarten came to St. Vincent's and all of the students were introduced to the world of computers.

As the nineties were being ushered in, another building project was in the making. The school needed use of all the classrooms, the parish needed meeting rooms and the C.C.D. program needed offices. Father Richard LaPata, D.P., then Pastor, initiated a program that would re-design the present convent to meet all the needs. Under the continued guidance of Father Benjamin Russell, O.P.,Pastor, the new "Parish Center" opened in September of 1992.

Ms. Julie Stoffel, Principal, has helped St. Vincent Ferrer School continue its tradition of providing an excellent Catholic education to the students. The students continually demonstrate their quest for knowledge by excelling on standardized tests, winning area contests in Math, Science and Spelling and being awarded academic scholarships to local high schools.

Many things have changed over the past fifty-five years but St. Vincent's still holds true to its original mission; to provide an excellent academic education in a Catholic environment for the children of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish. The same dedication and spirit of Father Mclntrye and the three founding Sisters and the support of the parish community will lead St. Vincent Ferrer School into the twenty-first century!

The recorded history of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish and School was last published in the "St. Vincent Ferrer Commemorative Book", which reflected the first 56 years of the parish and school. In 1996, Fr. Gerald McGreavy became pastor and Sr. Judy Sikorski, CSJ the principal of the school. A year and a half later, Fr. Robert Botthof was named pastor.

Under his direction, many improvement were made to the physical plant of the parish and school. A section of the convent, which had never been part of the Parish Center renovation, was completely rebuilt into a school library, the former library became a junior high science lab, and a second floor was added to the existing passage which connects the school to the Parish Center. Through the generosity of all the parish people and with the assistance of the School Board, these renovations were possible. The School Board pushed forward a completely new computer lab and additional networked computers in the classroom.

The school has been blessed with completely dedicated teachers now consisting mostly of lay men and women. The number of students on the honor roll both in the school itself and the number of graduates who have attained honor roll status and college scholarships attests to the strong academic program which has been our history. More importantly, we have been tried by our nation's tragedy of 9/11/01 and by the deaths of fathers of some of our children and found our community truly living out our mission statement:

We are about living the Catholic faith and

forming our students to live the faith.

We teach our students dignity and truth.

They will learn of God...

to love God, to love neighbor,

to love self,

to develop their God-given talents,

to form community and

to serve others.

July 2002

A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT – NEW PRINCIPAL SELECTED

I am pleased to announce that Mrs. Frances Mazzulla has been appointed principal of the St. Vincent Ferrer School. Mrs. Mazzulla will begin her duties July 1, 2002, upon the sabbatical retirement of our beloved Sr. Judy Sikorski CSJ. Mrs. Mazzulla was chosen finalist from a pool of twelve candidates submitted by the Office of Catholic Schools. A doctoral candidate at Chicago’s Loyola University, she has a M.Ed. degree in School Administration and Supervision and a B. A. degree in English Literature both from Loyola.

Mrs. Mazzulla is completing a 19-year stay at Transfiguration Elementary School in Chicago. A junior high teacher for 10 years, she was appointed principal in 1983. She also served as a primary grade teacher for the second and third grades at St. Mark Elementary School in Chicago. Our School Board was pleased to recommend her appointment after visiting Transfiguration School and speaking to teachers and parents. They reported that she is well liked by students, parents and staff, and an excellent leader of a school environment reflective of its Catholic identity and conducive to effective educational practices.

Fr. Robert J. Botthof O.P.