The last day of the school year is typically a joyous occasion, but for the students, faculty and staff of St. Pius X Montessori Catholic School and Our Lady of Victory Catholic School, that day was bittersweet. This marks the final academic year for both schools, which have had to close due to declining enrollment and financial difficulties.
“I think everyone has been looking forward to summer break, even more so than in years past due to the stress and craziness of teaching through COVID,” said Jen Ripley, principal of St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge. “This year, however, has been so different because with that excitement comes great sadness for the staff, teachers, families and students, because no one is returning in the fall.”
Ripley, who has been at St. Pius X since August 2002 when she landed her first teaching job at the school, has seen many important milestones over nearly two decades.
The school celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012 during Catholic Schools Week, complete with a fireworks display. The year before, the school introduced the Montessori program with three primary level rooms (ages 3, 4, and 5). By 2019, the school had fully transitioned to the independent learning Montessori format, leaving a legacy as the only Catholic Montessori school in the state.
Over much of the course of its history, the School Sisters of Notre Dame were affiliated with St. Pius X School, serving as teachers and administrators.
Ripley said the St. Pius X Home & School Association helped put together an end-of-year celebration. During the last week of school, there was a pizza lunch for all the students and staff, along with events to help students enjoy their last few days together. On the last day of school, current and former families, staff and teachers gathered for a picnic at Meadowbrook Park to share their memories.
“It hit the hardest for me on the last day when I said the prayer over the intercom for the last time and then walked out to run our carline dismissal,” Ripley said. “It’s crazy how those two routine occurrences – things I do every single day – tore me apart.”
The 2020-21 school year was Ryan Hellem’s first – and now last – year as principal of Our Lady of Victory School in Arbutus. Founded in 1957, the school at one time had a large group of Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur as teachers.
According to Hellem, Our Lady of Victory served a very diverse population from all over the West Baltimore area. More than 35 zip codes were represented, and there was even a large Burmese population.
“We are a very welcoming community,” he said. “I haven’t been in a place with kinder students, families, faculty and staff. It felt like home.”
The school’s slogan is “OLV is the place to be,” and that was always fitting.
“It’s a place where everyone felt safe and comfortable every day,” Hellem said. “We were a shining light, especially in the darkness of the pandemic.”
Many families have been at Our Lady of Victory for generations. There are students whose parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents attended the school. More than 500 alumni from the 1960s to present attended a gathering at the school on June 11.
“The parking lot was overflowing,” Hellem said. “It was a bittersweet moment for them to reconnect with old friends and teachers and to have one more chance to tour the building.”
Our Lady of Victory educators received a citation from Gov. Larry Hogan Jr. “in recognition of the positive and lasting contributions [they] have made to the community and the lives of countless children throughout the years.” They also received a similar proclamation from Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott.
No matter where students came from socioeconomically, racially, ethnically or religiously, Our Lady of Victory educated everyone in the Catholic tradition, Hellem said.
“It’s sad,” he said of the school’s closing. “But I try to remind our families and our alumni that the school building is just a building. People make the school a school. The legacy of openness and loving and caring will always carry on through our students and alumni.”
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