| Past/Present
By Justine Henley
Ninety years ago, in 1917, a startling development occurred. That is
that a high school solely devoted to the education of young women arose
in the brownstone neighborhood of Park Slope, Brooklyn. Anyone who has
read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith or who knows of the
Triangle Shirt Factory Fire of 1911 or who has had the good fortune to
speak with a great grandmother or great aunt would know that
girls, generally, were not educated beyond grade school ninety years
ago. Working class girls as well as many working class boys often left
school by the eighth grade to seek employment to help support their
families.
|
 In the
online History of St. Saviour’s High School, it is noted that
the start of the all-girls high school coincided with the advent of
America’s participation in World War I. Surely, the fact that many
young men were soon to be drafted into service or were looking to enlist
may have had some bearing on the Parish’s establishment of an
all-girls high school. However, having been a student of St. Saviour
High School since 2004, I think there was more to it than that. In my
opinion, I believe that the school was established because the Parish
community truly cared about educating young women.
|
If the Parish had not
been so committed, the all-girls high school would have closed years ago
but instead it is now stronger than ever.
According to the online History of St. Saviour
High School, fifteen young women were graduated in 1930. Thirty five
young women were graduated in 1939 and the numbers continue to increase.
Just look around you and you can see that our school’s graduates
continue to grow in numbers.
In a time when traditions are lost or changed, the
tradition of St. Saviour High School to educate young women continues.
From 1917 through 2007 and for years to come, this one small school, in
an old building in Brooklyn, on a long tree-lined street, remains. And,
the world, at least our little part of it, our St. Saviour, continues to
foster the hopes and aspirations of the young women who attend it.
Happy Anniversary, St. Saviour High School, ninety
years young! |
| Making
Connections
By Natalie Musumeci
On the morning of October 23rd, a significant amount of the senior
class accompanied by Ms. Maguire and Ms. Demic, got their bags packed
and their snacks ready for a three day, two night trip upstate to the
Don Bosco Retreat Center that they will never forget. From the moment we
arrived, Father Jim Berning and Colleen Inaven welcomed us with warm
greetings. After the girls got settled in, Father Jim and Colleen
pitched to us what the activities were for that day. Every activity had
a certain length of time. When the girls heard how our day was planned
out, a few of them compared it to “boot camp”. As the day went on
the girls realized that this wasn’t so bad, that it was actually fun
and when it was time to eat everyone was put in an even better mood. A
favorite activity of the girls was when we had to do the “trust walk”.
|
“trust walk”. Father Jim made some us of blind, deaf, and paralyzed
by putting blindfolds over our eyes, masking type over our mouth, and
rope tied around our legs. We each had a partner to guide us on the walk
or should I say the obstacle course. We enjoyed this very much and we
all got a laugh out of how funny it was watching and hearing the other
girls when they didn’t know what was going on. Another activity that
was quite amusing to the girls was when Father Jim and Colleen
introduced us to Brother Michael Leschinsky and Father George Atok. It
wasn’t a very formal introducing because we walked into a club like
setting with music blasting and Brother Michael dancing around with a
wig on. Father George taught us new dances moves that none of us will
forget. On a more serious note, the girls found themselves getting very
sentimental on the last day of retreat when we were given envelopes full
of letters that we each wrote to each other the night before. |
Girls
wrote notes to other girls who they don’t really even talk too much in
school, but they just wanted to say something nice about that person. A
lot of the girls had tears in their eyes while reading the letters, but
it was tears of joy. On the last day I think all of us connected on
the same level. By spending that three day, two night
retreat together, we all learned different qualities about each other
and grew closer as a whole. We grew even closer when we snuck out of our
rooms late at night when we weren’t supposed to meet each other in one
of the girl’s rooms. It truly felt like a sisterhood. When the bus
arrived on the last day to pick us up, I don’t think any of the girls
wanted to leave. We may have been on edge when we first got there, but
when it was time to leave, we only wanted to stay longer. I recommend
for the present juniors and even for the other grades that when it is
time to go on your senior retreat that you pick the overnight one. We
had experiences that will stay with us forever and I know that each of
us will continue to treasure the letters, the experiences and the new
friendships we made while on the senior retreat of 2007. |
