 | |
 |
|
 |
|
|
||||||
|
St. Michael’s Catholic School was established in 1877, in a building at the rear of the church. Originally, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio staffed the school; however, in 1884 the Sisters of Mercy from New Orleans began to teach at the school. During the first two decades of the school’s existence, the enrollment ranged between 40 and 85 students annually. The sisters of Divine Providence of San Antonio replaced the earlier nuns in 1897, and remained for ten years. During that time enrollment was as high as 110 students. In 1908 the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio returned to St. Michael’s to teach all grades, including high school, in the original building. They stayed until 1916, and usually their number included three academic teachers, a music teacher, and a housekeeper. During this time the school awarded degrees in music and high school certificates. Students also studied German, and some boarded at the school in the sisters’ residence. In 1909 the church acquired additional property across from the church, and the school was moved to the Old Baker Home on that property. In 1912 the Old Baker Home was moved across McLeod (then Depot Street) to make way for the first permanent school building, a two-story structure with three classrooms and a wide hall on the ground floor and an auditorium with a kitchen on the upper floor. The hall served a number of purposes, and mass was held there during the construction of the present church. The Old Baker Home served exclusively as the convent. In 1916 the sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament in Victoria came to the school and stayed until 1996. In 1927 St. Michael’s graduated its last high school student, and in 1929 the high school was closed. In 1955 a new school building was constructed on the site of the razed Baker House. It was a concrete, brick, and glass structure that took its design from the International Style pioneered in the first quarter of the century by European and American architects. It had four classrooms, a library, office, and a convent upstairs. The building was doubled in 1966, and all the classrooms were air-conditioned. Later a science lab and a computer lab were added. In 1953 Mrs. Hedwig Lucas became the first lay teacher, and by 1984 two sisters worked with eight lay teachers and the first lay principal, Robbie Kirk, who led the school for two years. He opened the first kindergarten in a portable building donated by a golfing friend. In 1996 the Sisters of Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament ceased leading and teaching at St. Michael’s. Since then the school’s faculty and staff have been lay persons. In 1999 the school dropped the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades but added pre-kindergarten for three and four-year olds. Today St. Michael’s offers instruction in grades 3PK - 6. It has a faculty of nine and a support staff of four. Miss Judy Roeder has been principal since June, 2001 |
|
Copyright ©
2003, All rights reserved. |
|