St. Margaret Catholic Church - History of St. Margaret School

No story of St. Margaret Parish would be complete without an account of St. Margaret School, which first opened in September 1941 with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth as its faculty. Sister Mary Auxillium Minton was the superior and principal and Sister Leonard Maria McMahon, Sister Elizabeth Wood, Sister James Philomena McCall, and Sister Tresea Miriam were the teachers. The five sisters lived in a house on the property of the school; the convent across from the church was bought later. In 1941 there were 65 first-graders and 52 second-graders. Because the new school was not quite ready for occupancy, classes were conducted in the former rectory with the second grade on the second floor and the first grade on the first floor. Fr. Galligan blessed the finally completed new school on December 8th, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and on December 9th at 10 am the students marched from the former rectory to their new classrooms. On September 8, 1942, the school year started with a Mass of the Holy Spirit; the student body was made up of 186 young people; 102 boys and 84 girls. The school continued to grow, and the school year 1943-44 saw 267 students enrolled in grades 1 through 4. The year 1944-45 was one of further growth with a fifth grade added; and 279 enrolled. Religious Education classes for public school students continued to be held after school on Wednesdays for girls and on Thursdays for boys.

Earlier in its existence the school was accredited by the Archdiocesan Department of Education. By the school year 1945-46 the enrollment reached 386. The 1946-47 year saw the addition of grade 7 and an enrollment of 382 students. The year marked a great growth spurt; there were now eight grades and 445 pupils. June 16, 1948, was the date of the first graduation of St. Margaret School; 40 young people graduated. Their eighth grade teacher, Sister Mary Vincena Lysaght, was also the school principal. The 1948-49 school year opened with an enrollment of 448, and in May 15, 1949, St. Margaret had its first May Procession with 350 students participating. At the second graduation a scholarship was awarded from Notre Dame Academy. The 1949-50 found 444 pupils enrolled, of whom 62 graduated that year. Scholarships were awarded by Notre Dame Academy and Boston College High School. There were 440 students in 1950-51, 42 graduates, and scholarships were again awarded from Notre Dame Academy and Boston College High School. In 1952-53 there were 487 students with 48 receiving their diplomas in June. 1953-54 opened with 500 students, and an eighth grader, Jeannie Sargent, won the City Spelling Championship and a trip to Washington D.C. to compete in the national championship. Forty-six students graduated that year. The school census continued to grow, and in 1954-55 more than 500 students were enrolled; Fred Frawley was the City Spelling Champion and traveled to Washington D.C. to compete. That year there were 84 students in the graduating class. The 1955-56 school year opened late due to the polio epidemic that was sweeping the state. There were 491 pupils enrolled and 55 graduates that year. Another eighth grader, John Scanton, won the City Spelling Bee as well as the trip to Washington D.C. In 1956-57, the enrollment was 500 and remained the same for the 1957-58 school year. In September 1958, the construction of eight new classrooms was completed; the School now had 16 classrooms and two first and second grades, but one each of the other grades. That year, Sheila Hallissy won the Sun's annual spelling bee; she was the fourth St. Margaret's winner and she, too, won a trip to Washington. 53 students graduated on June 12th.

When school opened on September 9, 1959, there were 600 pupils present, and for the first time two lay teachers were added to the faculty, which numbered eleven sisters. There were now two classes of every grade from 1 through 7 with the principal teaching the one eighth grade. Eight hundred pupils from grade one through High School were enrolled in the CCD program. In 1960-61, the second class of eighth graders was added. In 1961-62 the enrollment had risen to more than 700, and the graduating class numbered 96. In 1962-63 the school reopened with registration for primary, elementary, and junior high school students on consecutive days to facilitate the enrollment process. On March 7, 1963, the sisters changed from their traditional white bonnets to the black veil and white headpiece. When Pope Paul VI arrived in the U.S. on October 4, 1964, TV's were set up in the classrooms so the students could watch the events of the day. The 1966-67 year saw 780 enrolled. The Christmas play, Stars Over Christmas, was the first Christmas play in which every pupil participated. During the 1967-68 school year, parent/teacher conferences started in October and were held each Tuesday night from 6:30 to 8:50pm so that every parent had ten minutes with the teacher of their child. This continued until every parent had seen all the teachers of their children. When school year 1968-69 began, a plan was developed to have parents preside in the school yard at noontime to oversee the recess period. Thus began the system of parent volunteers which is still in place at St. Margaret's. In 1969-70, Michael Parker won the Oratorical Contest. In 1970-71 there were 575 students,and during that year Linda Neary, who had won St. Margaret's Oratorical Contest, also won the CYO Oratorical Contest. That year there were 80 graduates. In 1972-73, Marion Lartagne won first prize in the Lowell CYO Oratorical Contest. When the school opened for the 1973-74 year there were 620 enrolled. The next year the enrollment had decreased to 462; John Broderick took part in the Lowell CYO Youth Speaks Out Contest in Boston, and Michael Adams won the Sun's Spelling Bee Contest and the trip to Washington. In 1975-76 the enrollment was 421. As the enrollments declined, the classes were gradually reduced to one per grade with about 30 pupils in each grade for an average of about 240 students. When Sister Shirley opened the school for the 1976-77 year, the enrollment was 367. In 1977-78 there were 341 pupils of whom 58 graduated. In the 1980-81, all-day kindergarten classes were inaugurated at the school building: in 1989 they moved to the former convent on Stevens Street. That same year a pre-kindergarten program was started. School enrollment rose to 416, and the class size was reduced to 25. In recent years, an after-school program has been established in the gym to accommodate working parents. In June of 1988 the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth retrenched their numbers and withdrew from the school. Those who were there for that last school year, 1987-88, were Sister Barbara Gilmetti, 6th grade teacher; Mary Catherine Kohler, who ran the Learning Center; and Alicia Marita Kern, who served as secretary.

In 1980 with the all-day Kindergarten program in place and an increasing number of pupils who remained to enroll in the first grade one, it was possible to return to two classes per grade, adding one class per year. This process was completed in 1990.

As the number of Religious Sisters declined with only three remaining at St. Margaret's, Miss Lillian Lamoureux became the seventh principal in 1982. Since 1982, a part-time physical teacher has been on the faculty, and since 1984 there has been a part-time musical specialist. In January 1987, a pilot computer science program was initiated, and in September 1987, a full-school computer science and literacy program followed. In 1988, a pilot program in counseling began in collaboration with the Merrimack Valley Catholic Charities and continues to the present time. By 1989, there were 416 students enrolled; 114 of whom were outside the parish. The faculty was made up of 17 full-time lay teachers, 4 part-time lay teachers, the principals's lay assistant, and a lay secretary.

In 1991, the principalship of the school returned to the leadership of a Religious, when Sister Loretta Fleming, better known as Sister Lori, a Sister of Notre Dame, became the eighth principal. Under her leadership the school has continued to make great strides in education with the development of new programs, and an increased enrollment. Like the city itself, the school demonstrates the diversity of the population, a good sign for the future of the school and of the Church in our community.

One of the hallmarks of a great parish is the number of religious vocations it has fostered. Over the past 90 years scores of young men and women of our parish have dedicated their lives to the Church in the Religious Life. This year we rejoiced over the ordination of Father David Murphy, now known as Father Brenden of the Order of St. Dominic. Father Murphy graduated from St. Margaret School in 1979, Lowell High School in 1983, and Providence College in 1987. He was ordained in Washington D.C. on May 19th and celebrated his First Mass at St. Margaret Church on June 4, 2000. This was truly one of the highlights of our anniversary year.

In its ninety years of existence, St. Margaret Church has also been willingly aided by an enthusiastic corps of lay people and volunteers. The vibrant and caring parish of St. Margaret's continues to endow the Church and the community with the light of education and leadership through faith.

Ad multos annos!