A Half Century of Faith, Knowledge, Service

Bishop Serratelli marks 50th anniversary of St. Gerard Majella School at Mass, school visit

PATERSON  This month, St. Gerard Majella School here received the “double honor” of having welcomed Bishop Serratelli during two visits this month: once, after he celebrated the first annual diocesan Fallen Firefighters Memorial Mass on the morning of Oct. 8 in the parish church, and again, to celebrate Mass to commemorate the school’s 50th anniversary, on the evening of Oct. 16, also in the church.

When Bishop Serratelli visited St. Gerard School Oct. 8, he went around to each class to speak with teachers and students. Last Friday, the bishop was main celebrant at the 6 p.m. Mass, which marked the school’s golden anniversary, celebrating its rich 50-year legacy of “Faith, Knowledge and Service.” A catered dinner in St. Joseph Center followed the anniversary liturgy.

Concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Serratelli were Auxiliary Bishop Mar Joy Alappat of Chicago; Vocationist Father Rijo Johnson, St. Gerard’s pastor; Vocationist Fathers Leo Antony, James Butts and Robert Vass, parochial vicars; and visiting priests and former pastors. Also in attendance were current and former staff, faculty, students and parents of the school; parishioners; representatives from many religious orders, who serve Paterson; members of Salesian Sisters, who first staffed the school; and members of the Religious Teachers Filippini. They included Sister Nicolina Bandiera, mother general, and Sister Frances Lauretti, general counselor, both from Rome; Sister Ascenza Tizzano, provincial superior; and Sister Jo-Ann Pompa, St. Gerard’s principal since 2000 and the religious education director of St. Gerard Majella Parish since 2010.

“We had a double honor of two visits by Bishop Serratelli,” said Sister Jo-Ann, who called the anniversary Mass “a great celebration of Church. We were blessed by the bishop’s presence and his words, which were in support of Catholic education. It was a good message for the night,” she said.

The 50th anniversary celebrations have been celebrating the rich legacy of St. Gerard’s, where each day is filled with first-rate academics that challenge them to achieve excellence; access to the latest technology; programs to help them grow in healthy relationships and in leadership; and more faith-centered activities that focus on God’s love and service to others. The pre-k to eighth-grade school community starts the day with morning prayer, which gets its students — mostly Paterson residents from diverse ethnic backgrounds — mentally and spiritually ready for a full class schedule.

“Our students — ‘my shining stars’ — feel loved and find God here. We teach Gospel values and that all things are possible with God. From that, academic excellence follows. They are excited about learning,” Sister Jo-Ann said.

One fifth-grader, Autumn Jackson, called St. Gerard’s her “second home.” She entered in kindergarten as a “shy kid, who didn’t smile or talk.” But over time, she grew more confident socially — and a lot more talkative — as she started making friends.

“The teachers here are enthusiastic. They take care of us,” said Autumn, who noted that her family — which includes three other siblings — previously attended a Christian academy. “St. Gerard’s has made my faith stronger. I love morning prayer [where students also recite the school’s mission statement]. I know about Mary and the saints,” she said.

Located at 10 Carrelton Drive near the city’s border with Totowa, St. Gerard’s sparks the faith of students through participation in Masses in St. Gerard Church, including an All Saints Day Mass on Nov. 1, where first-graders dress up as saints and give a presentation on their saint. During Lent, eighth-graders present the Living Stations of the Cross in the church and in the Filippini Sisters’ infirmary in Morristown. Students also raise funds for various causes, including the missions, which has earned them many first-place awards over the years from the Diocesan Mission Office, Sister Jo-Ann said.

Students learn to become instruments of God’s peace through St. Gerard’s Conflict Resolution Program, which earned a Best Practice Award from the diocesan School Office. The initiative aims to “remove negative attitudes and behaviors to bring about a positive and peaceful atmosphere in which every child will feel happy and safe.” The program also helps build up students’ self-esteem, their ability to resolve conflicts in a positive manner and, in the older students, their leadership skills as peer mediators, Sister Jo-Ann said.

“St. Gerard’s philosophy is based on Catholic values. Jesus is a big part of that,” said Colleen Cobb, pre-k and kindergarten teacher, who has taught here for 18 years, and who praised the Conflict Resolution Program. “Sister Jo-Ann holds students accountable. They gain empathy — thinking about how their actions can affect other people,” she said.

St. Gerard’s offers many other state-of-the-art academic programs. They include STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) instruction with hands-on learning that challenges students’ problem-solving abilities. Students had a new science lab when they came back to school for STEM instruction. The school participated in the N.J. State Department of Education’s Talent 21 Grant, which “established 21st century learning environments in grades six and seven that blend physical and digital infrastructures to seamlessly support learning.”

These programs — along with many extracurricular programs — build on the 50-year tradition of academics and spirituality at St. Gerard’s, which opened on Oct. 3, 1965, after the establishment of the parish as a mission of St. Michael Parish, Paterson, in 1963. Salesian Sisters staffed the school until the arrival of Sister Jo-Ann, its first Filippini principal. Ahead of the start of its anniversary year, St. Gerard’s has been undergoing renovations to the bathrooms in the gym and strengthening of the walls in the classrooms, said Sister Jo-Ann, who praised Father Rijo Johnson, pastor, and the other Vocationist priests who serve here for their continued support of and presence in the school.

“The teachers here care that you do well and push you to do the best that you can,” said Patricia Tookmanian of the Class of 2001, whose three siblings also were graduated from St. Gerard’s and who teaches special education in the Paterson School District. “St. Gerard’s is small — like a family. That’s why my mom and I love to come back to volunteer here,” she said.