St. Rose of Lima Catholic School celebrates 30th anniversary

St. Rose of Lima Catholic School celebrated its 30th anniversary on Sunday.

The school, a ministry of the church of the same name, serves families of Franklin and surrounding areas by integrating the Catholic faith with educational programming for students in preschool through eighth grade. It has around 125 students currently. Current and former students and staff gathered for a mass and a picnic to mark three decades Sunday in Franklin.

When the school was opened in 1994, it was the first new Catholic school established in central Indiana in 30 years. The first class had about 17 children, made up of only kindergartners, the Daily Journal reported at the time.

Catholic education had been a success story, said Rev. Daniel Mahan, the pastor of St. Rose when the school opened in 1994. Thirty years later, St. Rose of Lima is still going strong, current staff said.

St. Rose of Lima Catholic School has grown from one kindergarten class to serve preschool through eighth grade students. Parents noted in 1994 that the school presented a viable private school option that Franklin was lacking.

The school opened at a time when Catholic education was booming. More than 900 new students entered schools in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in 1994. It was the most significant increase in recent years at the time, according to the Office of Catholic Education. Elementary schools gained over 4% in the early 1990s.

Other area private schools were full and could not accept more students at the time, they told the Daily Journal when the school opened.

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St. Rose of Lima has grown each year since its opening, said Kim Tekippe, the school’s current principal. As Franklin continues to grow, so will St. Rose of Lima, she said.

“We really pride ourselves in being the only faith-based school in Franklin,” Tekippe said. “And I want to have that as an opportunity because we believe it’s not just education, it’s formation.”

The first year it opened, officials were gauging whether parents would want to send their children to St. Rose and if expanding the school was an option. The first classes met in a large classroom converted from three separate classrooms.

Kim Dinkel, a former teacher, helped organize the anniversary celebration. Dinkel taught at St. Rose when it opened in 1994 and retired two years ago. Walking through the hallways to see how the school has changed was nostalgic for Dinkel. St. Rose of Lima still has the same family feel that it had 30 years ago, she said.

“I’ve always felt a sense of wanting to be a part of it, doing what I can because I was a part of it when it started and it just makes me happy to continue helping even though I’m not teaching there,” Dinkel said.

Dinkel cherishes memories like when the gym was built and the priest had students help bless the steel frame of the building.

Another memory Dinkel cherishes is building the playground equipment with teachers and parents. A special member, who was in her late 70s at the time, got to be the first person to go down the new slide, she said. Everyone works together there, helping St. Rose cultivate the feeling of family, she said.

“Everybody knows everybody. Teachers know all the students. The older students know the younger students. The little ones look up to the big ones,” Dinkel said.

Even when a stranger walks through the doors, St. Rose of Lima parishioners make them feel like they have a place there, she said.

For many, St. Rose of Lima feels like home. This includes Vanessa McCown, a St. Rose parishioner.

McCown attended the 3oth anniversary celebration on Sunday as a way to get together with friends and family. She admires the school and church because it’s close to home and feels like home.

Prayers feel more personal at St. Rose of Lima and she finds comfort in making a commitment to God there, she said. The church is especially welcoming to parents, she said.

“It makes you feel warm and welcomed and I admire that,” McCown said.

Christina Merkel echoed that sentiment at the celebration. St. Rose of Lima is close to Merkel’s heart, as her daughter’s middle name is Rose and so is her granddaughter’s.

“St. Rose has been very operational in my life and it’s just a wonderful community,” Merkel said.

Merkel also loves the wide range of ages she sees at St. Rose of Lima, she said.

“You’ve got the full circle of life,” Merkel said.