History

PictureOriginal Holy Rosary School






Holy Rosary School opened its doors September 8, 1952.  The vision of Bishop John J. Cody for the area, the first school building was formerly part of the Central Wesleyan Orphan Home and is shown, above. 

As the school grew, particularly in the 1970s, the school was periodically remodeled to accommodate the parish school, convent, chapel and meeting hall. Our school was originally staffed by the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood from O’Fallon, MO.
​​
Construction of a Parish Activity Center in 1979, shown below, enabled the school to further expand by using part of the basement for classrooms.
PictureParish Activity Center 1979


​Parish growth continued and the school board began to plan for a new school with the Archdiocesan Building Commission and the Catholic School Office.
PictureNew School Wing Dedicated 1986

This new school building was able to be built largely due to the generosity of the Saxe family.  ​Upon his death in 1982, he left his estate to the church to be used for construction of a new school building to serve the children of Holy Rosary Parish. ​​Under Fr. Ambrose Stratman, construction for the new school building began on October 28, 1984.

​​The new school building was completed a week before opening day of the 1985-86 school year and was dedicated on October 6, 1986. The new school allowed enrollment to grow from 137 to 161 with the addition of a kindergarten.

​During the 1991-92 school year, Holy Rosary said goodbye to the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood. To replace them, a sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet was hired as principal with a lay staff. She was our last principal who was a consecrated religious.  .

​​In the Spring of 2002, a new wing was completed on the school. This provided the school with a new Kindergarten room, library, computer laboratory and a Family Center with a gymnasium and stage.

PictureNew Wing Holy Rosary School 2002


Under the leadership of Fr. William Thess and principals Michael Etter and Jim Ford, many changes came to Holy Rosary School. Committed to providing updated facilities and technology, their leadership lead Holy Rosary through a time that saw multiage classrooms introduced as enrollment dipped following the Great Recession of 2008. Their leadership ensured Holy Rosary’s financial, academic, and spiritual success during an uncertain time.  

In 2013, Father Patrick Driscoll was appointed Parochial Administrator  of Holy Rosary Parish. Fr. Driscoll emphasized the spiritual formation for our students through his presence and offering more opportunities for the sacraments.

In June of 2014, Father John Mayo was appointed as the Parochial Administrator  of Holy Rosary Parish. The legacy of strong school leadership was passed also during this time to the new principal for Holy Rosary School, Mrs. Lori Racine.

Father Mayo and Lori Racine bring a very team-oriented approach to everything they do in the Holy Rosary School and community.  This includes the establishment of a technical team which is working to upgrade Holy Rosary’s informational technology, developing a deeper team spirit among the faculty for mutual support and assistance, and using virtue-based restorative discipline to build a school truly unified with pride.