Photo By Michael Alexander

This past Tuesday, Sept. 30, it became public knowledge that two archdiocesan Catholic schools, Blessed Trinity High School, Roswell, and St. Jude the Apostle School, Atlanta, and one independent Catholic school, Pinecrest Academy, Cumming, were named National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence for 2014 by the U.S. Department of Education.

For months these honors had been a secret to nearly everyone. In the case of one school, it was so secret we didn’t find out until it was too late for me to be there to visually capture the special occasion. I started out at Blessed Trinity and ended up at St. Jude the Apostle. Excitement reigned all around for school administrators, faculty, staff and students. Blessed Trinity and Pinecrest, which opened in 2000 and 1993 respectively, celebrated their first time being recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School. For the 52-year-old St. Jude the Apostle, the announcement was their second time, but they celebrated just like it was the first.

When I arrived at Blessed Trinity’s campus Tony Fujihira, and Scott Findlay were on a lift hanging the National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence banner above the entrance to the school. Sharon Mueller, the school’s fine arts department head, was tying blue ribbons on trees around campus. This was all being covertly executed as the announcement had not been made to the rest of the faculty, staff and students. Everyone was inside the gymnasium for an assembly on the topic of social media. It would be another 50 minutes before Diane Starkovich, Ph.D., superintendent of Catholic schools, and Frank Moore, Blessed Trinity principal, would break the news.

In the aftermath of the announcement, students were treated to chocolate chip cookie cake and yellow cake, with blue and white cream cheese icing, during all the lunch periods. The cakes were baked by the school’s food service director Alan McIntosh and decorated by Argelia Alvarenga.

St. Jude the Apostle School students celebrate the recognition of their school as a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence with “Bomb Pops.” Standing among the students are St. Jude the Apostle Church pastor, Msgr. Joe Corbett, background left, and school principal Patty Childs, background right. Photo By Michael Alexander

At St. Jude the Apostle School the faculty, staff and students gathered in the cafeteria to hear a live feed of the announcement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The students were amped with anticipation, even though they didn’t know what it was all about. Their energy tapered a bit when the live feed took a little longer than principal Patty Childs expected, so she eventually read the formal letter, which contained the Blue Ribbon announcement. Once it became apparent the good news came with a night of no homework and cherry, lime and raspberry “Bomb Pops,” the enthusiasm level shot up again.

It was quite a day. I can’t help but think how the news must have warmed the hearts of the people who pushed for the opening of those schools; moreover, let us not forget the late Bishop Francis Hyland and Archbishop John Francis Donoghue, who had the foresight to envision and support the building of those institutions of learning.

In the October 2 issue of The Georgia Bulletin, page 1 and  page 4, my colleagues, Andrew Nelson and Nichole Golden, give a more detailed account of the Blue Ribbon experience.

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