The first graduates of Guradian Angels Regional School (Gibbstown and Paulsboro) pose for a photo. Below, Bishop Guilfoyle Regional School held its final graduation at Corpus Christi Church, Carneys Point, on June 8.
It’s June. For those of us in the church’s education ministry that means a round of graduations coming one on top of the other. Of all the ceremonies this year, however, two stood out particularly for me. Each, in its own way, marked a milestone for the school community.
The first took place on June 8 at Corpus Christi Church in Carneys Point. It was the 10th and final graduation for Bishop Guilfoyle Regional School which will close its doors on June 30.
The class theme for graduation was Milestones, and the graduation program’s cover showed a wicker basket filled with stones, each one bearing words of wisdom for the graduates.
The school was born in September of 2000 from a merger of St. Joseph (Swedesboro), St. James (Penns Grove) and St. Mary (Salem). These little communities became Bishop Guilfoyle Regional School and took up residence in the former St. James High School site on Georgetown Road.
Its lifetime was marked with highs and lows. The teachers were certified, dedicated and top-notch. The curriculum was augmented with a superior performing arts program that gained much local and national attention. The physical site was one that other schools would love to have. Where else can you find an elementary school with a football field and bleachers! But, as populations shifted and money grew short, numbers declined; and a school that began with such promise will now count on its graduates and former students to continue that promise elsewhere.
For the first time in a dozen years, the strains of Pomp and Circumstance echoed within the walls of St. John Church again when on June 16, the first graduation ceremony for Guardian Angels Regional School (Gibbstown and Paulsboro) was held.
Guardian Angels opened its doors in the fall of 2001. Now members of the school’s first kindergarten class will be the first to represent that school outside of their tiny community. This is also a school with certified, dedicated, and top-notch teachers. The curriculum there is enhanced with a fledgling performing arts program that did a super job with “Annie, Jr.” in May.
The school outgrew its primary site in Gibbstown (originally St. Michael School); and in 2007, it sent its students in grades four, five and six to the Paulsboro site (originally St. John School). This year’s graduation is a milestone in the rebirth of Catholic education in Gloucester County. Here is a school that rose from the ashes of two former communities that faced the same fate as Bishop Guilfoyle Regional School.
Will history someday repeat itself? One can only hope and pray that the opportunity given to the Catholic communities in Gibbstown and Paulsboro may some day come back to the Catholic community in Salem County. But, in the meantime, congratulations to the students at both Bishop Guilfoyle and Guardian Angels! You have done well. You are the future of our faith and the future of our church. You have been rooted in the faith and given wings to soar on high. Continue to make us proud of you.
Patricia C. Munyan is Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Office of Catholic Schools, Diocese of Camden.
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