85 years in the making

By Jonathan Martinez - Florida Catholic

Photographer: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC

Students from each grade level decorated their classrooms to highlight the different decades during which St. Theresa School has been in existence. Music and memorabilia from the time abounded and yearbooks were on display.

Photographer: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC

Ed Brownell, class of 1942, and Mary Kilcayne, class of 1944, were the only two former students from the 1940s who attended St. Theresa School's first-ever reunion.

CORAL GABLES � It was 85 years in the making but on a beautiful clear and cool south Florida night over 500 hundred proud alumni of St. Theresa School gathered at their old stomping grounds.

�This is such a landmark year for our school, we had to honor not only the 85 years of education but all the wonderful religious and lay members that worked here over the years,� said Sister Rosalie Nagy, principal, and a member of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. �Our alumni have a home to come back to.�

�The foundation of our faith is what brings us all here,� said Paul Otero, class of 1976.

St. Theresa is the oldest school in the Archdiocese of Miami. Established in 1925, it was named St. Joseph�s Academy until being renamed St. Theresa School in 1932.

 

Photographer: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC

Fernando Villamor, the only lay person to serve as principal of St. Theresa School, from 1978 to 1987, poses with current principal Sister Rosalie Nagy of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart, who has been principal since 2006.

The school began under the direction of the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine, who worked there until 1987. The Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles assumed that responsibility in 1991. In its 85-year history, the school has had 18 principals, all but one a religious sister.

Until 1959, St. Theresa School also included a high school. It now offers grades from pre-kindergarten to eighth, serving approximately 650 families with nearly 1,000 children who fill three rooms for each grade level.

�It was a loving and safe environment and because of the school, sisters and the community I have a strong spiritual connection with the Church,� said Ava Oste, class of 1977, whose children also attended the school. �I wanted them to have the same loving environment that I had.�

The reunion celebration March 20 � the first in St. Theresa�s history � kicked off with a Mass followed by reception at the school. To mark the special event, each current grade level decorated their classroom in the style of a specific decade, beginning with the 1920s. The decorations included yearbooks and memorabilia from each year.

�The music and pictures of the time period brings back a sense of nostalgia for the alumni and gives them a chance to greet one another and reminisce, connect and bring back that joy of being a student here,� said Sister Nagy.

Among those present were members of the classes of 1942 and 1944.

�The education I received was excellent, we were a family,� said Mary Kilcayne, class of 1944. �The sisters were a great influence in my life. They gave me a great example of what living a Christian life should be like.�

�We hope to have a reunion every five years and in between send out newsletter to our alumni,� said Sister Nagy.

Locally, the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart also staff Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School in southwestern Miami-Dade County.

For more information on St. Theresa School or to become an active alumni, click here; you can also follow the school on Facebook.

Photographer: JONATHAN MARTINEZ | FC

Sister Rosalie Nagy, St. Theresa School�s current principal, greets hundreds of alumni and family who gathered in the center of campus during the school�s first ever reunion March 20.

To purchase photos of the celebration, click here or on any photo