November 7, 2009

Sisters: Farewell, Holy Name of Jesus School

The school treats the departing sisters with a grand celebration complete with a mariachi band and Irish dancers from the school and the parish Life Teen band.

PAT LANGFORD | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Posted: 06.27.09

LINDA REEVES | FC
Sister Kathleen Cummins, a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, presents awards to students during a recent school ceremony. The Holy Name of Jesus School principal is leaving the school after 11 years at the school.

WEST PALM BEACH | Three sisters of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary order said goodbyes to Holy Name of Jesus School last month, and await orders and new assignments from their community in New York.

“It’s an excellent school with wholesome children, wonderful faculty … and of course supportive parents; where would you be without them? I’ll miss all of the children, and the families and the staff,” said Sister Kathleen Cummins, who was the principal until the end of the school year. Michael Smith will be the new principal.

Also leaving the school are Sisters Ann Miller and Ethna Egan.

To show appreciation for their service and dedication, the parents of the pre-k to eighth-grade students held a special celebration with the works – a mariachi band, Irish dancers from the school and the parish Life Teen band.

“They deserve it,” said Cheryl Apicerno, mother of two Holy Name of Jesus students, who helped organize the gathering.

The celebration was attended by nearly 400, including students, parents, teachers and parishioners. During festivities, the nuns were serenaded, hugged, praised, and given cards and a monetary contribution, collected from parents.

“They have been absolutely wonderful to our family,” said Debbie Ponozzo, mother of four children attending Holy Name. “They’re very loving, caring. … They’ve gone above and beyond their teaching and administrative duties there to give an example of God’s love for us, and they’ve just been terrific.”

Sister Cummins served as principal for 11 years. Sister Egan, a second-grade religion teacher and teacher assistant, has been with the school seven years, and Sister Miller, who teaches third grade, was at Holy Name for five years.

Sister Cummins said she has many fond school memories that she will not soon forget. In a conversation with the Florida Catholic, she touched on activities, events and prayerful times.

When asked about her most memorable moment, she recalled a challenge to the student body that landed her on top of the school even after losing.

“I challenged them to read 10,000 books,” she explained. “I would go on the roof (if they completed the challenge).”

That’s 10,000 for the entire school; but with a student population of less than 300, somebody had to do some heavy reading. The challenge was accepted and carried out.

“So, I got the (city’s) fire engines to come out and they put me on the roof,” she said.

Sister Cummins climbed the tall ladder one step at a time to the rooftop with an umbrella and a book. The slow, high climb symbolized the ladder of her students’ reading success according to the wise educator.

“Yes, I did,” she proudly said. “It was hot. I brought my umbrella with me. The priests made up a song and sang it as I was going up. It was to celebrate reading and literacy.”

Apicerno praises Sister Cummins for “great leadership and bringing programs in school.”

“Allowing programs that offered enrichment to students makes it easier for the parents,” she said.

Sister Cummins began a practice of having all students attend a school Mass once a week. For daily prayer, which follows the school announcements each morning, she asked students to contribute a prayer of their own, now a tradition.

“I always ask them to be spontaneous in their prayers,” she said. “It makes my day to hear them able to speak to Jesus in their own words. It’s just a beautiful prayer for the spirit that all of us have.”

School spirit also showed in the annual dances organized for students in grades three through eight, which paired mothers with their sons and fathers with daughters on the dance floor.

“They were really fun,” Sister Cummins said, “and the parents and students couldn’t have been more supportive.”

Over the years, Sister Cummins instituted a peace program, teaching children how to reconcile conflict in peaceful ways. She brought Holy Name of Jesus an annual field day for students to participate in events and activities outside the classroom. Young aspiring musicians were invited to bring violins to school twice a week to perform for fellow classmates, stimulating music appreciation. A school band, karate program and organic garden were put in place over the years and are now school features.

Parishioners and ministers said they also will miss the religious sisters.

“They’ve always been truly, truly supportive of anything that I’ve done,” said Gina-Marie Dyer, Holy Name’s youth ministy director. “They’ve always come out and supported anything the youth ministry has had. That’s been really important from a teamwork standpoint. That’s been good for me; I appreciate that.”

The women have made an impact on the school, parish, children and families, Dyer said.

“The interesting thing is they not only have touched us through our children,” she said, “but they have influenced us as parents directly with our involvement with them through the school activities.

“I feel blessed because my two girls, (Julia, 9, and Angela, 11,) have had the sisters in their classes. It’s a unique dimension to Holy Name that we’ve almost taken for granted.”

Sister Cummins said at this point she is waiting to “see where the Lord is leading me on my journey now.”

“Every day has been a blessing for me,” she said.

 

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