Good Works Continue At St. Augustine School

St. Augustine School students attend their final day of classes on Wednesday. Following a January directive from the Archdiocese of New York, the school is closing its doors after more than 50 years. 

It has been a week of final events – the last school mass was June 8, the last prayer service on June 12 also featured an awards ceremony and scholarship presentations; the last Pre-K graduation was June 13 and the last eighth grade graduation took place on Saturday. After classes dismiss on Wednesday, most families will gather one more time for a school picnic at Kruckers in Pomona. 

Home School Association President Bethann Rooney said Principal Katharine Murphy gave each of the school’s 219 students “ a survival kit.” It included a personal note from her, a rubber band signifying they should be flexible in life, Hershey Kisses, which she always kept on her desk, band aids for hurts in the future and a pencil to write down their blessings.

During the waning days, staff and students are finishing arrangements to donate items from the school to other communities. 

“We are trying to take our misfortune and turn it into goodness and kindness for others,” she said. 

Uniforms were collected and will be packed by Girl Scouts and sent to Haiti. Rooney said the Pre-K classroom furnishings and toys are being given to Sacred Heart School in Newburgh.  Contact has been made with the superintendent of the Moore, OK School District and an offer extended for the library’s 5,000 publications to replace those lost when Plaza Elementary School was destroyed by a tornado in May. Alternatively, the materials will be sent to a school in the Philippines.

The rest of St. Augustine’s school equipment and supplies are being donated or sold to other faith-based institutions.

Rooney said parents, students and staff slowly accepted the Archdiocese’s decision. 

“It’s been a long a long and painful seven months since this started,” she said. “It’s been one long funeral.”

She said Pastor William Cosgrove has been speaking with everyone about having faith in why the decision was made.

“It’s not shock any longer,” she explained. “I think there’s still definitely a lot of anger.”

Pastor Cosgrove expressed sadness.

“There’s just a sorrow that it had to end up the way it happened with our school closing after so many years,” he said.

Pastor Cosgrove addressed the issue of the school building’s future.

“The school building belongs to the parish and it will not be sold,” he said on Monday. “It will be used for ministry for the parish.”

Pastor Cosgrove said the parish is not leasing the building but will use it for adult faith formation classes and religious classes for first through eighth grade students. He said the availability of classroom space means the parish might offer more classes and programs possibly during the day.