St. Vincent de Paul School
We are sorry that our school was chosen to close on June 24, 2014. So many great memories. We must never forget!
St. Vincent’s School began in the choir loft of the old church in 1905 under the direction of Miss Nellie Collins, its first teacher. In 1908, the old school building was moved to a site behind the church at the corner of Seneca and Rice Roads in Springbrook, NY. It had been a mission church of St. Vincent’s in Marilla, NY. On September 19, 1910, four sisters of St. Francis of Williamsville came to the parish to teach in the school. Thirty-four students were enrolled. In December of that year, students moved from Gardenville to St. Vincent’s. By 1948, the school had a “chartered bus service” and an enrollment of 102 students. Additional classroom space was provided on the second floor of the building. In 1961, the new school building was completed and dedicated.
St. Vincent de Paul School was chartered by the Board of Regents and operated under the direction of the New York State Department of Education and the Catholic Schools Department of the Diocese of Buffalo. The school had a full-day kindergarten and grades 1-8 and offered a full curriculum (State and Diocesan) including art, music, library, physical education, computer skills, remedial education, foreign language 4-8, advanced math (integrated algebra grade 8), instrumental music 3-8, drama 3-8, and a wide array of sports for all seasons.
Since education is important, not only to the individual but to the many communities in which the child lives, St. Vincent’s school accepted as its mission the development of each individual to his/her fullest potential, the preparation of each child to be receptive to the message of Jesus, share in the life of the Holy Spirit through the commitment of faith; and to be of service to the Christian community at large. This mission had several dimensions which included the spiritual and moral, intellectual and physical, social and cultural nurturing of the child, achieved through supervised instruction in academics including religion, participation in spiritual experiences, appropriate guidance in self-discipline and carefully programmed extracurricular activities