A Blue Ribbon Year For St Rose School

By Eliza Hallabeck

A large blue ribbon seemed to blossom on the side of St Rose of Lima School toward the end of 2009, as the school and the school community responded to earning the United States Department of Education’s 2009 Blue Ribbon School Award.

The Diocese of Bridgeport announced the award on September 15, and the school responded the following day. Principal Mary Maloney said her initial reaction was humble pride, and Monsignor Robert Weiss reacted by saying it was about time.

“It’s certainly an affirmation for all the teachers and the students,” said Ms Maloney on Wednesday, September 16. “We work very hard here to make this an excellent education experience for everyone.”

Only 314 elementary schools — public and private — in the United States received this honor in 2009, including only eight in Connecticut. The Blue Ribbon Award is the highest national honor that a school can receive.

Monsignor Weiss compared the school to a phoenix. In the 1990s, he said, the school neared closing, but parents worked hard to keep the school going.

“This is our 51st year, and we’ve been built on the shoulders of a lot of people who really worked hard to open the school and to maintain it through the years,” said Monsignor Weiss. “There have been a lot of challenges for sure, but we are very grateful to those people who that really worked hard through the years to get us to this point.”

A large blue ribbon soon found itself wrapped around the school like a present, and the school hosted a private banquet to honor the award on November 14.

Inside the school’s new gym and cafeteria, guests arrived and ate food, or tasted chocolate from a chocolate fountain from 7 pm until 8 pm, when a series of speeches were overseen by Monsignor Weiss.

Newtown’s State Representative Chris Lyddy presented a certificate from the Connecticut General Assembly to Mrs Maloney on behalf of himself, Newtown’s State Representative DebraLee Hovey, Senator John McKinney, and Westport’s State Representative and Assistant Majority Leader Joseph Mioli, who has a child attending St Rose of Lima school.

Monsignor Weiss finished the recognition ceremony by leading the crowd with three “hip hip hoorays.”

“See you in three years when we win it again,” he said near the end of the banquet.