by Carole Anne Scott

It’s time to head back to class, but sadly, this year the doors of St. Andrew the Apostle School will not be reopening. A declining enrollment, with only 80 students registered for the upcoming term, led to the difficult decision on the part of Msgr. Francis H. Kelley to close the school at the conclusion of this past academic year. Thus a sixty-three year tradition of academic excellence in our Forest Hills neighborhood came to an end.

At St. Andrew, it was obvious to even the most casual observer that a special atmosphere of caring concern pervaded the corridors. The School truly was a friendly place where everyone knew each other; where parents participated fully in activities; where students felt not just academically challenged, but also nurtured and cherished; where teachers instilled core values along with academic lessons; and where the principal, Mrs. Sheila Kukstis, a maternal figure as much as an authoritative leader, would each day offer her young charges supportive and encouraging words, even finding time to read to the youngest among them as part of her program advocating literacy.

On Sunday, August 28, teachers, students, parents, and friends of the School joined together at a special 11:00 a.m. Mass at St. Andrew’s Church followed by a reception in its Chapel. The purpose of the gathering was to provide closure and to give students and teachers an opportunity to wish one another well before heading off on their sometimes separate school paths.

Among the special touches at the Liturgy, St. Andrew alumna and teacher for the past thirty-two years (soon to be a Sacred Heart fifth and sixth-grade math teacher), Betty Principe, carried to the altar in the Offertory Procession a framed photo of the School’s last graduating class. As an added touch, former St. Andrew student, the young Brendan Deady, was the lector for the first reading and St. Andrew alumna and parent, Michelle Moreno, also read the Scriptures.

Msgr. Kelley and Rev. Timothy Kearney concelebrated the Liturgy. As though to diffuse the tension, the Monsignor’s homily began and ended with “a quiz” in which members of the congregation were asked to guess the answers to various humorous riddles, including old favorites, such as “What is black and white and red all over?” To which, almost everyone knew the answer, “A newspaper.”

The jokes were in stark contrast to the Gospel reading which spoke of Peter’s denial of Christ’s impending suffering and Jesus’ insistence that it would have to be endured. All of the parishioners present would have wished the suffering over the ending of the School could have been avoided, but that too was not to be.

In speaking of their feelings, Ms. Mary Fran Hughes, a St. Andrew alumna, parent, and former School Board member who had worked very hard to keep the School open, wisely stated, “This is the same kind of grief as when someone in the family dies. It brings some people closer together while others distance themselves, but the important thing about being the kind of community we are is remembering everyone for the contributions they brought.” That Sunday was truly a day of remembering.

For Michelle Moreno, every corner of St. Andrew the Apostle School holds numerous special memories. She herself was a student there, graduating in the Class of 1981, and she sent her sons, Nicholas and Daniel, to the School. Ms. Moreno shared fond memories of attending holiday fairs, participating in May Processions, going to School concerts, and reigning as a champion in its spelling bees. “St. Andrew’s was a great school back then too,” she stated, enthusiastically adding, “This was always a very close-knit community where people were always willing to go above and beyond to help.”

One of those who went above and beyond for a very long time was Sister Mary Regan. A first-grade teacher, Sister Mary arrived at the School in 1973 when the Sisters of Charity took over the teaching responsibilities from the Sisters of St. Joseph. She stayed until the very end, some thirty-two years later, and was still helping the children with their word lists and reading skills when the School closed.

Asked what had compelled her to remain in one place for so long, Sister enthusiastically answered, “The kids were beautiful. They made you feel like you were special, whether you were or not, and there was a nice rapport with the parents. They really appreciated what the teachers did.” For Sister, an added proof of the School’s effectiveness is found in the fact that of the twenty-two students who graduated this year, well over half are matriculating to Catholic high schools.

Sister Mary misses many things about St. Andrew’s golden years, including “the quarter to eight Mass to begin my day,” but ever a realist, she pragmatically states, “You want to hold on, but you know you have to move on.” That Sunday was truly a day for moving on too, for looking forward, as well as looking back.

Mrs. Dot D’Amato, daughter of longtime Sacred Heart parishioner and helper at the Rectory, Dolores Wall, and her children, Emily and Caitlin, are moving on to Sacred Heart School. Originally a teacher at St. Andrew the Apostle with her girls enrolled in the School, Mrs. D’Amato will soon be teaching sixth grade at Sacred Heart while her daughters will be students there. Enthusiastic about the new beginning, she nevertheless looks back over her St. Andrew experience, fondly recalling its many positive points. “I’m glad we had the chance to experience the wonderful people in this community,” she stated.

Also present at the special Liturgy and reception, Mrs. Kukstis agreed that the sense of community had been exceptional at St. Andrew. She feels that as a result, many of its people will always remain close. Expressing her sadness over the closing, she said, “I feel sorry for those who won’t have a chance to experience this community. We were so fortunate to have experienced it.”

Father Kearney had similar words of praise for the special spirit of the School, stating that it “...had a strong family atmosphere that could only be accomplished by the faculty and parents working together. Everyone involved in the School was made to feel like an educator because the education of the total child, academically, socially, and in the ways of faith was the whole purpose of the School.”

Echoing those sentiments, Mary Fran Hughes proclaimed that “From the first day everyone was enveloped and pulled into the School,” adding, “Mrs. Kukstis expected everyone to do something.” She continued, saying, “St. Andrew was a wonderful school with a unique profile. I’m grateful for the opportunity I was given to get my children through as far as I did.”

Particularly important to Father Tim was the fact that “Faith played a major role. Each grade was responsible for a liturgy which included an annual Christmas pageant, a reenactment of the Passion, and a May procession. All students learned the Rosary and in May, the entire school prayed a decade of the rosary together.”

Tied to the theme of faith was that of service. Father explained that “Students in the upper grades helped serve lunches, assisted at the After School Program, and performed a variety of acts of service in the wider community.” He opined, “I think they learned the art of service by watching the example of the parents, many of whom were always ready and willing to volunteer at the School!”

It is difficult to say good-bye to such a rich heritage. Following Communion, Msgr. Kelley again addressed the congregation saying, “I haven’t any more riddles left,” and adding, “The closing of the School is very painful. Many parents made great efforts to keep it open...Everyone did everything we could, but the numbers just were not there at the end.”

He offered special thanks to all who participated in the day’s events, allowing them to provide “a smooth transition for the youngsters.” Father concluded his remarks with a prayer that “the children may grow in wisdom and in grace before us and before God.”

Once again school bells will be ringing. For the teachers, students, parents, and principal of St. Andrew the Apostle School, those bells will no longer ring in Forest Hills, but instead will sound at many different locations, not just at Sacred Heart, but at St. Mary’s in Brookline, Our Lady of Lourdes, and even at the 550-student (huge by St. Andrew’s standards) school in Taunton where Mrs. Kukstis will serve as principal. For all of them, it will be a time of transition, a time of remembering, and a time of moving forward.

Whether they realize it now or not, all those individuals carry within them the special spirit of sharing and solidarity, of faith and faithfulness, of caring and concern that they knew as members of the St. Andrew the Apostle community. Our faith and life itself teach us, and so, we believe, that nothing that is wonderful ever really dies. The School may be closed, but the people are still open to others. Now they are the apostles bringing to new places all that they have learned in their former community and taking the spirit of St. Andrew’s well beyond the borders of Forest Hills. May every grace and blessing go with them.