By Lois Rogers|Correspondent

To hear Conventual Franciscan Father Robert Benko tell it at the noon Mass heralding the start of Catholic Schools Week in St. Peter School Jan. 26, “kick-off day,” in the Point Pleasant Beach school is always a marvelous blend of solemnity and celebration.

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The day always includes the Mass, a social and an open house with walk through tours of the venerable institution on Atlantic Avenue.

But this year, kick-off would be even more festive, he noted, as it is one of a season of events marking not only the 90th anniversary of the school, but its noteworthy status as the oldest Catholic School in Ocean County.

And in obvious recognition of that fact, the nave of St. Peter Church, which shares the campus with the school, was full to overflowing with students, families, alumni and members of the faith community. They listened as Father Benko welcomed them all to what he described as a “traditional celebration of an important part of our parish.”

He spoke of the critical role Catholic schools have played and continue to play in nurturing students who will bring Jesus with them into higher education and into adulthood where one day the nurturing of their own families and the community at large will benefit from it.

For the faculty, staff, students, alumni and all who gathered for the celebration of the Eucharist on this day, he said, the message is “that we are blessed to celebrate Christian, Catholic education.” He urged all present to focus on the gifts of Catholic education as, he said – noting his own example of 22 years of Catholic education – “they set the foundation for the rest of life.”

“Setting the foundation for life” has been the abiding goal of those who have fostered St. Peter School since it was established in 1923, he said during the open house and luncheon in the school which followed the Mass.

There every one gathered to share present and past memories of the school served by both the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill and the Conventual Franciscan Friars and the lay faculty and staff. The school, located just four blocks from the Atlantic Ocean, serves families from Northern Ocean and Southern Monmouth counties.

Over the decades, the school has conferred nearly approximately 1,800 diplomas on its students, including a number who came to the celebration and enjoyed sharing their heritage stories of being students there.

And those attending now and those who graduated long ago all spoke of the sense of connectedness and community that they treasure.

“You never really leave Catholic education,” said Allison Shields, a '75 graduate as she looked around the gymnasium crowded with kids in St. Peter uniforms, their moms, dads and grandparents and many alumni.

“It's a family. It's not just an education, its our Christian faith and you are always part of it. St. Peter's did a terrific job of instilling that,” Shields said.

“This is a community of people who chose to come here and that makes a (lifelong) connection,” she said.

She described her favorite memory as being able to go to church “as a school.” She said she realizes “to this day” that the biggest gift given to the students was “incorporating God into our everyday lives.”

Like so many others during the luncheon, Betty McCaffrey, class of '59, spoke of the sense of family and offered a personal story that put the icing on the cake, telling how her school family literally saved her wedding day from disaster.

“The night before our wedding in 1965, the place where we were having our reception – Michael's Pleasant Inn – burned down. My dad called the school and we had our wedding reception in the cafeteria,” with food hastily brought in from a local fast food chain, she recalled with a smile.

Jean Klementis, '57, who came with an album of memories that she had put together for her 2007 class reunion, was one of several women who still fondly recall their turn to crown the Blessed Mother in May. Sitting alongside her, Elizabeth Newbauer recalled gathering flowers from the neighborhood for the celebration and weaving them on to a coat hanger she had fashioned into a circlet.

Among the present students greeting alumni and guests and leading tours were seventh graders Julia Benol and Luke Remail. They bubbled with enthusiasm over the small classes they enjoy, the individual attention they receive and the good friends they have made among their fellow students.

Benol, the school historian, and Remail, the student body treasurer, spoke of how one of the best aspects of attending St. Peter School is getting to worship with their fellow students.

Their reflections dovetailed well with the insights shared by alum Daniel Popovitch, '82, whose son, Daniel, and daughter, Alexandra, are current students.

Sitting with his own mom and dad – both proponents of Catholic education, and his children, Popovitch enjoyed sharing that the quality of Catholic education has endured over the years and reflects the “efforts so many people have contributed to a lot of good kids.”

The anniversary events, which began with a Christmas Pageant – Walk Down Memory Lane in December, also included a focus throughout January on random acts of kindness in which the families, friends and alumni were asked to do something out of the ordinary for those less fortunate. This activity is continuing throughout the anniversary year.

For more on the events commemorating the anniversary, go to www.stpschool.org.