SCHOOL HISTORY
Saint
John
School opened in 1862 as a Parish School under the direction of the
Sisters
of Charity of Saint Elizabeth. In connection with the school, a private
academy
known as Seton Academy opened in 1864 for young boys and girls of
prominent
families in Orange.
The
Creche
opened in 1880 to accommodate working mothers who needed a safe place
for their children while they were absent from home. The children
attending
Saint John Grammar School would go to the Creche until parents were
finished
work.
The
present
edifice was erected in 1892. The nation was celebrating the four
hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher
Columbus, and
it was deemed most fitting that the new structure be known as Columbus
Hall.
When the building was completed in 1894 – the Christian Brothers were
engaged
to assume charge of the education of the boys in grades 5 through 8
while the
Sisters of Charity maintained Seton Academy, the Creche, the primary
school and
the girls in grades 5 through 8.
This
was
the period of the Golden Age of Saint John Parish. Although a large
school
already, a commercial program was instituted so the students could
obtain
desirable positions in industrial life in a prosperous industrial
community.
The
Creche as well as Seton Academy closed in the 1940’s to extend the
parish
cemetery.
Saint
John School continued to flourish, unique in having not only the
excellent
training and assistance of the Sisters of Charity but also the Christian
Brothers who taught the boys section until 1966.
The Daughters of Divine Love,
Sisters
of Charity and a dedicated lay staff have continued the progress of
“establishing
a glorious tradition” of training which was begun in the first school
for our
children which opened in 1862.
Our
present
school begins with a Pre-Kindergarten 3 year old program and continues
through grade 8 – with extended hours following the tradition of the
Creche.
