St. Marguerite honors Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph

Friday, May. 09, 2014

By Anne Stine

TOOELE — The Feast Day of St. Joseph and the Crowning of Our Blessed Virgin Mary with a wreath of flowers marked May 1 at St. Marguerite School in Tooele as students, their families, staff and volunteers came together to thank the school’s volunteer reading tutors for their service and Americorps for donating 1,000 books to the school.

The morning started with a Liturgy of the Word and Principal Lorena Needham telling the boys to aspire to be like St. Joseph as they grow up, and for the girls to emulate our Blessed Mother in saying “yes” to God.  

After the service students, teachers and families gathered around the statue of Mary in the churchyard and placed a wreath of flowers on her head as Principal Needham read from the liturgical rite: “Mary is the flower of all womanhood.” 

The month of May is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The celebration continued in the school gym with the presentation of Student of the Month Awards and thanks to Americorps for their grant and their donation to the school of 1,000 books to help the students with their reading skills.

The Americorps grant has allowed the school to fund a volunteer reading tutor program. The reading tutors were thanked for the gift of their time with pots of colorful spring flowers, then enjoyed muffins and reading stories with the students. The event was organized by Jennie Rodriguez, the school’s Americorps Star Reading Program coordinator.

St. Marguerite Catholic School opened in the early 1970s as a preschool conducted in the basement of a parishioner’s home. In 1974, the preschool moved to the basement of the newly built parish church. A new school building was built four years ago; its present enrollment is 88 students in grades preschool through eighth grade. There is room for many more students; parish scholarships are available.

As Principal Needham says, “Volunteerism is really what makes us so special.” All parents (and sometimes grandparents and other family members) volunteer 25 hours per school year; the school has more than 30 volunteers on campus. 

For enrollment information, call the school at 435-882-0081.