On the 200th day St. Mary’s has been open this school year, the school received a special visit from the Commonwealth and the Archdiocese of Boston.
Cardinal Seán O’Malley, Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Secretary of Education James Peyser visited St. Mary’s last Friday to tour the school’s new STEM building and hear from students and teachers about the St. Mary’s success story of in-person learning.
“I thought the students were incredibly articulate,” Gov. Baker said at a press conference attended by print and electronic media from Lynn to Boston. “What stood out to me was their willingness to do whatever it takes because they want to be in school.”
Head of School Dr. John F. Dolan, Associate Head of School David Angeramo and Board of Trustees Chair William Mosakowski welcomed the visitors, who also included Mayor Thomas McGee and Thomas Carroll, superintendent of schools for the archdiocese.
The guests visited a freshman and an AP biology class, followed by a roundtable discussion in the James Baldini Laboratories. Participating in the roundtable were: Gov. Baker, Lt. Gov. Polito, Cardinal O’Malley, Dr. Dolan, Secretary Peyser, Board Chair Mosakowski and St. Mary’s students Ava Benzan ‘21, Madison Spencer ‘22, Orvis Njika ‘23, Joseph Goyette ‘24 and Ruthshell Cazeau ‘27.
Students from Sacred Heart School, St. Pius V, Our Lady of the Assumption in Lynnfield, Saints Academy in Beverly and the St. Mary’s Marian Division greeted Cardinal O’Malley and Gov. Baker and presented them with posters thanking them for their leadership throughout the pandemic. Principals Kristina Relihan of Sacred Heart, Paul Maestranzi of St. Pius and Cynthia Donovan of OLA, Marian Division Dean Jackie Foley and Saints Academy parent and St. Mary’s trustee Vivian Iannotti accompanied the students.
“St. Mary’s has provided a perfectly safe learning environment,” Joseph Goyette said during the roundtable discussion.
“The past 365 days have been a learning experience,” said Madison Spencer. “Getting to come to school every day has been such a blessing in every way possible.”
Dr. Dolan noted that the school announced on June 4 – less than three months into the pandemic in Massachusetts – that it would open for in-person learning for the 2020-21 school year. It has not been closed one day due to COVID. He said remote learning was offered to all families and 96 percent of the 601 students opted for an in-person experience.
Gov. Baker commented on the “joy and happiness the kids have to be working together and learning together, (even) with all the constraints of COVID. Congratulations to all of you at St. Mary’s.”
Ê(The above report and accompanying photos were courtesy of St. Mary’s High School)