February 5, 2010
Dear Parents,

Congratulations to all on a very successful Catholic Schools Week! Many people pitched in to make this a very memorable week, one celebrating Catholic education in the United States. It was great to see all the moms, dads and grandparents for donuts and muffins. Once again it reinforces my belief that parents really do care – they just want to be kept informed and feel welcome in their child’s school. I thought it would be appropriate, and possibly enlightening, if I shared a brief overview of the history of St. Paul’s/Holy Family School. Before I begin, please note that all the information I am sharing was found in the documents that I reorganized when I began working here. I make no claim substantiating the authenticity of this history only that it was in a file labeled “History of St. Paul’s School.” Here is that history exactly as it was written. After you read it, please let me know of any inaccuracies. Better yet, if you have any additional information I would appreciate you sharing it with me. I’d like to compile a more complete, accurate history of our school.

Saint Paul’s School was established in 1922 with a staff of three Dominican Sisters. In 1925 a fourth Sister was assigned to the school and in 1926 another Sister. No further Sisters joined the school until 1954. The original site of the school was the Maydole (or Merritt Mansion) Mansion on the corner of North Broad Street and Mitchell Avenue. There were twelve first graders and approximately twenty-five primary students in all under the leadership of the Reverend Joseph S. Tiernan. It was a combination school and convent. The first graduating class consisted of three eighth grade students in 1927.

The Reverend Henry L. Contois was appointed pastor in October 1951 by Bishop Foery. By that time the post-war birth rate was being felt in all schools, and St. Paul’s was no exception. The building, which was adequate in the beginning, now proved to be unsuitable to the needs of the children and the Sisters. In 1952, it was decided that a new school building was needed for the increasing enrollment. Meanwhile, a convent on Prospect Street (were our new playground is) was purchased and renovated and was ready for the Sisters in September 1953. The new building was dedicated on September 19, 1954 with nine Dominican Sisters staffing the school.

Under the pastorate of Father Robert F. Coombs, $278,000 was raised for an addition to Saint Paul’s School. The addition consisted of the gymnasium/
auditorium, the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms, the carpeted Manley Memorial Library containing two thousand four hundred books, the present sixth grade classroom and the cafeteria with a seating capacity of 250 people. The new addition was dedicated in February of 1964.

In 1971, the Dominican Sisters were unable to continue their duties at Saint Paul’s School because of increased responsibilities in New York City. Father Thomas Kiernan searched for a year until he was able to announce that the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet would assume the teaching responsibilities at Saint Paul’s School.
In 1978, the Norwich City School District included the ninth grade in the high school for the first time. It was decided to drop the ninth grade from Saint Paul’s School at this time to allow an easier transition for the students into the high school. For similar reasons, in 1983, the seventh and eighth grades were dropped from Saint Paul’s School when the new Norwich City Middle School was built next to the high school.

For the 1988/89 school year St. Paul’s became a county school under the name of Holy Family. In January, 1990, Saint Paul’s School was rededicated as Chenango County Catholic School Holy Family by Bishop Joseph T. O’Keefe. The school was not to be a parish school of Saint Paul’s Church any longer, but a county-wide Catholic school for all children of Chenango County.

There were eight Chenango County parishes that took over the financial support of Saint Paul’s School. These parishes were St. Joseph’s in Oxford, St. Theresa’s in New Berlin, St. Malachy’s in Sherburne, St. Agnes in Afton, St. John’s in Bainbridge, Immaculate Conception in Greene, St. Bartholomew’s in Norwich and St. Paul’s in Norwich.

Here are some notes of interest that I found:

• For the 1983/84 school year, the average Diocesan subsidy to schools for parishes was 42 % of their regular collections.
• I was able to find student tuition for the following years:
1983/84 $450
1987/88 $650
1988/89 $700
2001/02 $1,800
2002/03 $1,895
2003/04 $2,150
2004/05 $2,400
2005/06 $2,500
2006/07 $2,600
2007/08 $2,850
2008/09 $3215
2009/10 $3,215

That’s the information I could find on our school’s history. Enjoy the weekend.

God Bless,

Gene

UPCOMING EVENTS

Mon-Wed, Feb. 8-10 Dinner Theatre Auditions

Wednesday, Feb. 10 Kopernick Observation Day Gr. 3 & 4
Perry Browne School 9 – 11:30 am

Wednesday, Feb. 10 Fish Fry Meeting 6:00 pm

Wednesday, Feb. 10 PTO Meeting 7:00 pm

Wed & Thurs, Feb. 9 & 10 St. Bart’s Spaghetti Dinner 4:30 – 6:30 pm

Thursday, Feb. 11 “Beauty & the Beast” K – 4th Gr.
Forum – Binghamton 8:30am-12:15pm

Friday, Feb. 12 Last day of school prior to Winter Break
School resumes on Monday, February 22nd