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| Sr M Xaveria & an unamed pupil |
This is another picture from the 1979 yearbook.
The piano teacher is Sister Mary Xaveria. Sister Xaveria taught in various Presentation Schools across Newfoundland. I am not certain of dates but I know it was the early 1950s when Sr Xaveria was a classroom teacher at St Patrick's old school.
Some of you will remember "The Passage" connecting the Deanery Avenue School with the really old classrooms above the Auditorium. Sr Xaveria taught Grade 10 in one of those classrooms. Mother Berchmans taught Grade 9 up there and Sr Imelda taught the Commercial Class in one of those classrooms. Graduates of Sr Imelda's Commercial Class were highly sought after by St John's firms. This is all from my memory so if I err, please someone, set me straight.
Sr Xaveria's family name was Fardy. She was an Aunt of that great St Bon's sportsman, Hugh Fardy. In the 1970s Sister retired to St Patrick's. I say "retired" but I don't think Nuns ever "retired". They just kept on working until the Good Lord decided otherwise. Anyway, Sr Xaveria then taught piano to a whole new generation of Westenders.
Unfortunately, I do not know the name of that cute looking little piano student. I hope someone out there will be able to help me with that. Also, any other memories of Sr Xaveria, the old classrooms above the Auditorium, or any of the Sisters mentioned here would be appreciated.
That student is Jason Dalton, a Holy Cross boy. We grew up together on Craigmillar Avenue.:)
ReplyDeleteThank you Anonymous. I am pleased that you could identify the student as Jason Dalton. I appreciate your input & I hope you will continue to look in. You never know what other gems you might be able to provide me with. If you have any pictures, stories, memories, etc, of St Patrick's I would be very grateful if you would share them with us. You could just e-mail anything to me here &, if you wanted, you could still remain 'Anonymous'. Thanks again for the information.
DeleteI remember my school days at St. Patrick's like it was yesterday, but they were in the 60's. Sister Luke (principal), Sister Brendan (choir), Miss Lawton (piano) and the list goes on. I live in Ottawa now, but there was a time when I visited Ottawa as a girl with the St. Patrick's choir and we sang at the National Arts Centre...what a wonderful memory. I had the opportunity a couple of years ago to visit the school again, as my niece attended school there (I can't remember the name of it off hand)and what a great experience it was to see the old classrooms, the halls and the basement.
ReplyDeleteI'll never forget the day when I was in class there, that Holy Cross across the street caught fire. My brothers were students there but thankfully everyone was safe.
Sister Luke was a wonderful principal and I remember her so well.
Those green uniforms will never be forgotten for sure !
God Bless all the St. Patrick's Girls.
Good Morning Yvonne
ReplyDeleteThank you for these lovely sentiments. I was at St Patrick's in the 50s but like you, I remember those days like it was yesterday. I have nothing but happy memories of my school days, the girls & the nuns. I was working when Holy Cross burned but we heard at work that the school was on fire & we rushed from work to Patrick St. I remember standing outside St Patrick's with a crowd of people watching the dear old school in flames. A lot of people, including me, had tears streaming down their faces. It was indeed a very sad day but, as you said, thankfully nobody was hurt.
Sr Luke was my Grade 8 teacher & she was just fantastic. She is now about 93 years old & I still keep in touch with her.
Would you have any photos of your time at St Patrick's or any more stories or memories? If you do I would love to post them on the blog for all to share. Actually, the memories that you have shared in this comment would make a good post. Would you mind if I posted it for all to see? If you do have anything that you would like to share with all those great St Patrick's girls all over the world, you could e-mail it to me at mcallistersmith@gmail.com & I would post it on the blog but keep your e-mail address private unless you say otherwise.
Anyway Yvonne, it is really good to hear from you & thanks again for your very interesting comment. Take care &, as you say, God bless all St Patrick's Girls.