Students at St. John's School in Hollywood, Maryland, shuffled into the pews in their parish’s church on Sept. 5. Despite the heat wave, the 218-person student body was in high spirits in the air-conditioned, historic St. John Francis Regis Church to celebrate the school’s centennial.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory celebrated the Mass along with Father Raymond Schmidt, St. John’s pastor, and Father Ryan Braam, the parish’s parochial vicar.
Susan McDonough, St. John’s principal, has been at the school since 2001. But her family has been part of Southern Maryland for much longer.
“My seventh great grandfather was on the Ark and the Dove that landed here in the 1600s with the first settlers,” McDonough told the Catholic Standard. “I am ‘true county,’ that’s what they call it.”
McDonough said the celebration will continue throughout the school year, and she added that the school has definitely experienced ebbs and flows through the years.
“I think St. John's has gone through some adversity in our 100 years. Just 13 years ago the building actually collapsed due to heavy snow…we were able to rebuild the section that didn't collapse, it was actually renovated. Even though it's not a 100-year-old looking building, we had certainly gone through some times (that) were pretty tough and we were able to, through the grace of God and through our wonderful faith, we were able to persevere. So it is just wonderful to be here,” McDonough said.
During his homily, Cardinal Gregory made a note of the school’s centennial and said that those who reach 100 years of age are often treated as delicate despite being “sturdy people,” and institutions are treated differently.
“Institutions that passed the mark of 100 years become signs of stability,” Cardinal Gregory said. “Living to be 100 years means that a person or an institution has seen a lot of life. In 100 years, many changes have occurred.”
He listed many changes, both “life-giving” and those that have been “filled with sorrow.”
“I applaud and thank you, parents, students, benefactors, administrators, and clergy, for the strength and determination that you have exhibited as a sign of God’s presence in your midst,” Cardinal Gregory said.
The cardinal also thanked former teachers and priests who formerly served at the parish for attending the Mass.
“Turning 100 years old might be a great feat for a person, but for a fine school, it’s only the beginning. When a person reaches 100 years of age, the next goal is to make it to 101, but for a fine Catholic school, the next goal is to reach the next centennial,” Cardinal Gregory said.
After the Mass, students filed out to the front of the school for a blessing and group photo with Cardinal Gregory.
Barbara Skane, a 1st-grade teacher at St. John’s School, said she loves the “family atmosphere” there.
“I think that’s what we can attest to. It's the faculty, the staff, the students. …I feel so blessed that at any moment of the day, I can talk about God. I can teach about it. It doesn't matter where we are. It could be math or science, I can bring it in, and it becomes so natural. I couldn't imagine really teaching anywhere else,” Skane said.
Skane explained that since her students are very young, she has had to think of creative ways to explain the weight of reaching a century, as a “birthday” for the school.
“Looking at a 100 (counting) chart because that's something they can visualize, and then we can count through it. I know through exercise, we do 100 jumping jacks and other things. It has to be concrete...It is a big number for them,” Skane said.
Amber Winslow, a third grade teacher at St. Johns, has worked at the school for eight years and is a former student there.
“I love being able to come back and teach with some of the teachers that I had. Mrs. Kane was my kindergarten and first-grade teacher, and our principal, Mrs. McDonough, was my fourth-grade teacher. So also being able to come back and work with them now is really amazing,” Winslow said.
She enjoyed Cardinal Gregory’s Mass.
“I thought it was beautiful. I loved having the cardinal down, visiting and celebrating the Mass with us, and it was absolutely wonderful,” Winslow said.
