|
BY ERIKA ANDERSON
Staff Writer
TYRONE--A community rejoiced Oct. 11 as Archbishop John F. Donoghue
celebrated the dedication of the new Catholic elementary school built in the
southern region of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
Parents, students, faculty and staff of Our Lady of Victory School were
filled with excitement and gratitude as their school was blessed and officially
dedicated. Dark blue, light blue and silver balloons, the color of the
school’s soaring eagle mascot, floated above tables. Girls dressed in
their blue plaid school uniforms and boys in their khaki pants, light blue
shirts and navy blue ties fidgeted nervously as they sang “Joyful, Joyful
We Adore Thee,” during the opening procession for the dedication held in
the school’s cafeteria.
Several pastors and priests from the school’s feeder parishes attended
the ceremony including Msgr. Francis Pham Van Phuong, pastor of Our Lady of
Vietnam Church in Riverdale; Father Leo Holleran, MS, pastor of St.
Matthew’s Church, Tyrone, a parish which is currently building a new
church on the same property as the school; Father John Walsh, pastor of Holy
Trinity Church, Peachtree City; Father Tim Hepburn, pastor of St.
Gabriel’s Church, Fayetteville; and Father John Koziol, OFM Conv.,
parochial vicar at St. Philip Benizi Church, Jonesboro.
Also in attendance were members of the archdiocesan education offices
including Msgr. Terry Young, Secretary for Education, Sandra Smith, Ph.D.,
superintendent of Catholic schools, and Judith Mucheck, assistant
superintendent.
Principals from other Catholic schools in the archdiocese were also at the
dedication to offer congratulations and to show support for Our Lady of Victory
Principal Nanci Pearson. They included John Mayer, principal of Our Lady of
Lourdes and St. Anthony’s School, Atlanta; Sister Patricia Clune, CSJ,
principal of Queen of Angels School, Roswell; Karen Vogtner, principal of St.
John the Evangelist School, Hapeville; and Queen Grady, principal of Sts. Peter
and Paul School, Decatur. Sister Dawn Gear, GNSH, the principal of Our Lady of
Mercy High School, which will open in north Fayette County next fall, was also
in attendance.
The archbishop began the dedication with a prayer for the school, its
faculty and its students.
“Today, we ask God’s blessing on Our Lady of Victory Catholic
School, a center of seeking, learning and teaching what is true,” he
prayed. “We ask that Ms. Nanci Pearson and those entrusted with the
education of the children in this institution may teach their students how to
join the discoveries of human wisdom with the truth of the Gospel, so that they
may be able to keep the true faith and to live up to it in their lives. We also
ask the Lord that the students will find in their teachers the image of Christ,
so that, enriched with both human and divine learning, they will in turn be
able to and ready to enlighten and assist others.”
After a Gospel reading and intercessions, the archbishop, accompanied by
representatives of the faculty, staff, school families and students, walked
throughout the building blessing each classroom and family center. The school
consists of two pods or family centers, one containing kindergarten through
fourth grade and the other, fifth through eighth grade. Classrooms surround
each perimeter. Mass is often held in the family centers.
The school itself is a welcoming building, with bright walls filled with
student artwork. One wall in the pod of the upper classes features a project
that required students to find the origins of their names. In the lower grades,
a classroom door was decorated with bones, each one with a joke written by a
student. Each classroom has four to six computers fully networked to the media
center’s computers. There is also a computer lab containing at least 30
computers and a regulation-sized gymnasium allows for full-court basketball
games.
Our Lady of Victory was one of three new elementary schools that began its
first day of classes Sept. 7.
The school, located on Kirkley Road in Fayette County, broke ground for its
building June 3, 1998. Designed by architects Passantino & Bavier, Inc. of
Smyrna, and built by Ra-Lin Construction, the school serves nearly 250 students
in kindergarten through eighth grade. Construction of the school, which cost
$4,560,000 funded by the archdiocese’s “Building the Church of
Tomorrow” Capital Campaign held in 1997, was overseen by Catholic
Construction Services’ CEO George Barrie and project manager Dennis Kelly.
To help in the administrative aspects of starting a new school, Pearson
began work last July at the archdiocesan Catholic Center in Atlanta. A South
Carolina native, Pearson received her bachelor’s degree in Latin and
English in 1971 from Winthrop College in Rock Hill, S.C. Later she received a
master’s degree in teaching English from the University of South Carolina
in 1975 and a master’s in educational administration and supervision from
Georgia State in 1993.
A former teacher at the Marist School, Atlanta, and the first lay principal
of St. Anthony’s School in Atlanta, Pearson expressed her gratitude to the
archdiocese and to Archbishop Donoghue as she presented him with a plaque.
“When I became principal a little over a year ago, I was merely looking
at blueprints for Our Lady of Victory Catholic School. And as wonderful as this
building is, I have found we have much more to celebrate,” she said.
“… I can assure you, Archbishop, that the foundation of Our Lady of
Victory is truly grounded in the Catholic faith. The builders did not work in
vain.”
Pearson spoke of the strong faith of the entire school community.
“The faculty and staff have witnessed (to) their faith in Christ and
the church through prayer, faith sharing, service and working long hours. Our
children will express their love of Christ and the Church through daily prayer,
love of the Eucharist, service projects, retreats and through faith
sharing,” she said. “The parents have been most interested in
becoming involved and assisting us in our educational ministry as well …
It is truly an honor and a blessing to be part of such an outstanding
community.”
The archbishop then expressed his thanks for the hard work on the part of
the faculty, staff and families of the school.
“I owe all of you a deep debt of gratitude and I pray for all of
you,” he said. “The children of this area have a beautiful school
because of you and I’m sure the Lord will bless you and your family
because of your sacrifices.”
Following the dedication ceremony, which was planned by Pearson and Suzanne
Foster, religious education coordinator, those in attendance gathered for
refreshments and many reflected on the blessings of Our Lady of Victory School.
“I had Catholic education and that’s what I wanted for my
children,” said Tamara Romero, a parishioner of Holy Trinity Church in
Peachtree City and the mother of a fifth-grade student at the school. “I
like the small size and it’s a peaceful location for learning. The
facilities are beautiful.”
Romero said she is grateful for the opportunity to educate her children in
Catholic schools.
“I really love how modern the school is,” she said. “I’m
just really happy the school’s here.”
Rudy Schlosser, a parishioner of St. Philip Benizi Church in Jonesboro and
the father of a sixth-grade student, said that when he first heard they were
building a school in his area he was excited.
“I’m originally from Los Angeles, and Catholic schools and
churches are like gas stations, they’re everywhere,” he said.
“There aren’t as many in Atlanta, especially on the south side, so
I’m really happy.”
Schlosser said that he feels his daughter is getting a better education. He
said that she often remarks about how hard the sixth grade is, but that her
friends in other schools think it is easy.
“I like the fact that it challenges her more than anything,” he
said. “But the most important thing is that it’s Catholic.”
Faith is strongly emphasized at Our Lady of Victory School. The
school’s motto, which is printed on the school’s crest, translates
from Latin to read “Our faith conquers the world.” The crest features
a rosary that forms the letter “O” surrounding the letters
“L” and “V.” In the center of the two letters is the
crucifix from the rosary that shows Mary at the foot of the cross with Jesus.
The design of the crucifix comes from several crucifixes given to Msgr. Young,
who designed the crests of all three new elementary schools.
Faith is also at the center of the school’s mission statement, which
was composed by the faculty and staff.
“Our Lady of Victory Catholic School exists to instill Christian
principles and to foster spiritual growth,” the statement reads.
“Working in partnership with our families and community, we celebrate
diversity and inspire a love for life-long learning. Committed to academic
excellence, we strive to create a nurturing, innovative environment which
promotes high expectations. Through a holistic approach, we encourage the
development of each individual’s potential.”
Some outside the immediate school community hope to contribute to the
school’s mission. Father Walsh, pastor of Holy Trinity Church, said that
he is looking forward to becoming involved with the school.
“The atmosphere of the school is just great,” he said. “It
seems there’s a lot of excitement, a lot of new things. The kids are
happy.”
He said that the dedication was exciting and that the school and its staff
“have a lot going for them.”
“They have a tremendous facility,” he said. “The school is so
sharp and bright and the staff I met I was impressed with. I’m amazed at
the leaps and bounds they have made in a year. They’re off to a good
start.”
Lisa Van Hecke, Our Lady of Victory’s first Home and School Association
president, said the school was an answer to her prayers.
“We have been hoping and praying for a Catholic school on the south
side since we moved here five years ago,” she said. “We were very
excited to hear it was finally becoming a reality.”
Van Hecke said she is thrilled with the school and its staff.
“What I get from this school is a very warm Christian atmosphere and my
kids get that too. I just cannot say enough good things about this
school,” she said.
The mother of a seventh-grade student and a fourth-grade student at the
school, Van Hecke said she feels confident that her children are receiving an
exceptional education.
“It’s like sending your children to another family because they
are part of this school family,” she said. “Nanci Pearson is a very
warm, open, loving person. We are truly blessed to have that kind of leadership
at this school.”
Van Hecke said she feels honored to be a part of history as the first
president of the Home and School Association and that she believes the school
will achieve many goals in the years to come.
“This is a great experience,” she said. “We have nothing to
do but grow and I believe great things will happen at this school.”
|
