When Resurrection students arrive at school, they receive a warm welcome from Principal Sister Anne Massell, Assistant Principal Christopher Siegfried, and staff.
By Robin Jovanovich
When Resurrection students arrive at school, they receive a warm welcome from Principal Sister Anne Massell, Assistant Principal Christopher Siegfried, and staff. “We wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Sister Anne in an interview in the Rectory last week. “Ours is a loving family atmosphere. We greet the children in the morning. It’s wonderful to start the day with respect.”
Now in her fourth year at the helm, Sister Ann explains that while Common Core was a big change, Resurrection teachers are trained by the Archdiocese and have embraced the higher standards. “We had what we thought were a good set of academic standards, and they’re now even better.”
In a few short years there have been a number of changes and advancements at Resurrection. Technology is at the forefront: all seventh and eight graders have iPads; and the school has piloted an online program, Discovery Education, which provides teachers with interactive content. The children compete in Mathletics with students from around the world. Just this month, second grader Michael Drummey received a certificate for scoring the highest number of points, 4,093.
Junior high students are as schooled in grammar and writing as their parents and grandparents were. “They can diagram a sentence and understand the difference between cases,” she says proudly.
“The Catholic school philosophy includes making sure students understand the answer,” emphasizes Sister Anne.
Resurrection students also learn the importance of helping the less fortunate from an early age. Outreach begins in preschool, she notes. This year the kindergarteners made Thanksgiving baskets for the handicapped. Seventh graders make soup for the midnight runs that eighth graders participate in. All ages help out with the coat drive and the POTS dinners.
With the purchase of the neighboring Methodist Church, Resurrection now has a 9-acre campus. The additional buildings are used for everything from Cub Scout and parish meetings to movie nights for grownups and theater productions.
At their Open House in the school gym this week, Sister Ann and faculty described the well-grounded spiritual, academic, and social life of the school to dozens of potential families. “It’s structured, but we have a lot of fun.”
