When word came from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that St. Monica School in Berwyn would close in June, parents, students, faculty and staff were crushed. Wednesday marked the first day of school for students in Archdiocese schools, including former St. Monica Students. A dozen students in the Country Gate neighborhood are starting at St. Katharine's School in Wayne this fall. Wednesday morning worries started giving way to smiles as former St. Monica students waited to the bus to take them to their new school. So, how was the first day at the St. Monica's students new school? Katie Krisko …

Saint Monica School in the village of Berwyn isn't the only parish school that closed last week. A new report says the teachers in Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia schools have been an 'afterthought.' A column published Sunday morning on Philly.com says the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (which includes St. Monica and all of Chester County) has left teachers as an 'afterthought' amidst the school closings and the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal. The priest sex abuse scandal has cost the archdiocese a reported $11+million in legal and other epxenses. Also on Patch this Sunday: This Dad …

When Saint Monica School closed for good on Thursday 15 teachers were out of job, according to Principal Lisa Hoban. According to Hoban's count as of the final day of schol Thursday morning, three had found new teaching positions, several were still looking and about six others are retiring or taking a little time to decide on their next move. Saturday afternoon St. Monica's Church Pastor, Father William Trader sent parish families an emailed letter outlining where things stand financially for the teachers who are left without work in the wake of the closing. According to the letter, the …

After 96 years of serving K-8 students in Berwyn and surrounding communities, St. Monica School is now closed. The final day came as teachers, students and faculty packed books into mini vans and trucks and the entire school community celebrated a mass featuring laughs, tears and as parish Pastor Fr. William Trader told students, "memories to hold in your hearts." Thursday was the culmination of a rough and tumble emotional roller coaster ride for a small and tight-knit parish school community that began in the middle of the winter, right after Christmas vacation. That's when the Roman …

For years, his business has been across the street from the St.Monica School playground and one local roofing contractor says he had a special reason for throwing a party for the kids. Dennis Dunbar has built his roofing and siding business in a building that sits across the street and well within earshot of the often noisy playground for St. Monica School. He tells Patch the sounds of happy children laughing, shouting, playing and generally just being kids are like music to his ears. An Oasis of Joyful Noise Owning and running a business can be tough and demanding, especially in these …

One week from Friday will not just be another last day of school for the families of St. Monica Parish school in Berwyn. It will be the school's last day of classes for good. Saturday wasn't a day to be sad, though. The parish threw itself a party to celebrate and commemorate 96 years of educating children in Berwyn and surrounding communities. The picnic followed a commemorative mass and gave parents, parishoners, alumni, and friends a chance to reconnect, remember, and share memories of the school. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia's education commission made the decision to close St. Monica …

Saint Monica School in Berwyn will close at the end of the school year but first the parish plans a celebration and farewell event for alumni, church families, current and former teachers and staff and supporters. The event will feature a procession, mass and family night this Saturday. The event is described this way in an email sent to Patch: To honor the 96 year legacy of Saint Monica School and to recognize the alumni, students, faculty, staff and parishioners that have supported Saint Monica School throughout its wonderful history, please join us for a commemorative Mass at 5:00 p.m. on …

One of the biggest questions looming for many parents and students at St. Monica School in Berwyn is where current students will attend school in the fall. Many had hoped St. Monica students would go to a regional school that would have been created after both St. Monica and St.Patrick in Malvern closed and consolidated. That was the original plan as outlined by the Archdiocesan Blue Ribbon Commission on School Closings on January 6. St. Patrick's appealed the decision and persuaded Archbishop Charles Chaput to keep St. Patrick's open. The ruling leaves St. Monica closed and standing at the …

The pastor of St. Monica's Parish in Berwyn says he will not personally get behind efforts to save the parish school because the numbers simply don't add up. Father William Trader sent an open letter to St. Monica's church and school families Monday afternoon indicating the roller coaster ride St. Monica's has been on since January has been difficult for him as well as the students, parents and staff of St. Monica's School. Trader told the school and church community that the enrollment and tuition numbers simply add up to a conclusion that is not in the best interest of the students or their…

In the latest and unexpected twist in what has been a roller coaster ride of emotions for over a month, St. Monica's Parish School will now not be merging with St. Patrick's Parish School in Malvern to form a new, regional school. The announcement came in an email sent by St. Monica Pastor Rev. William Trader to the Saint Monica Parish and school community just after 7 p.m. Thursday evening. How they got to this point The two schools were to be closed and merged into a new, consolidated school on the St. Patrick's campus in Malvern. St. Patrick's appealed the Archdiocesan Blue Ribbon …

St. Monica School in Berwyn and St. Patrick's in Malvern are moving ahead with plans for a new, consolidated school on the current St. Patrick campus. Leaders of the two schools and parishes met last week to forge plans for the fall, even as they await a ruling on St. Patrick's appeal of its closing. In a letter to St. Monica school and church families, Pastor William Trader revealed the new school will be named Malvern Catholic Regional School. In the minutes of the meeting attached to his letter,  Trader explains "our rational was that there were numerous saints whose names have been …

A letter sent to parishioners, school families and friends of St. Monica in Berwyn sheds some new light on the appeal process for Catholic schools recommended for closing in the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. St. Monica in Berwyn was told on January 6 that the school would be closed, as would St. Patrick's parish school in Malvern. Under the recommendation of the Archdiocesan Blue Ribbon Commission a new regional school would be created, probably under a new name, on the current St. Patrick campus in Malvern. Late last week St. Patrick appealed the recommendation in a decision that "…

The principal and pastor of St. Monica School in Berwyn were scheduled to meet Monday morning with officials of the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia and St. Patrick's School in Malvern. The meeting, scheduled for 11 a.m., is to hear St. Patrick's appeal to the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia Blue Ribbon Commission recommendation to close both schools and consolodate them as a new school on St. Patrick's campus in Malvern. Last Thursday, St Monica officials got word that St. Patrick's planned to appeal the recommendation. In an email sent to parishoners and school families St. Monica …

The Pastor and Principal of St. Monica Church and School in Berwyn have spent most of January helping parishoners, families, and students come to terms with the news that the St. Monica School will close at the end of June. The Blue Ribbon Commission of the Philadelphia Catholic Archdiocese announced in early January that St. Monica and St. Patrick's school in Malvern would be closed and consolidated on the Malvern campus of St. Patrick's. Thursday afternoon St. Monica Pastor Father Bill Trader sent an email to the St.Monica community announcing that St.Patrick has decided to appeal the Blue …

Details of the Philadelphia Archdiocese's Blue Ribbon Commission on school closings and consolidation tell the tale behind the decision to close St. Monica School and merge it with St. Patrick's in Malvern. In a letter to parishoners, St. Monica Church Pastor Fr. William Trader detailed the numbers in the commission's report which show enrollment has dropped from 202 students in 2003 to 158 students in 2011. The school includes grades 1-8. The numbers is the report tell a story of hard numbers that went into the Blue Ribbon Commission's report. The gap between student tuition and what it …

In his weekly pastoral letter to Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archbishop Charles Chaput pulls no punches about the closing and/or consolidation of dozens of schools run by the church. The closings hit hard for families and children at Saint Monica School in Berwyn which is recommended for closing at the end of the current school year. The Blue Ribbon Commission report recommends that St. Monica merge with St. Patrick's school in Malvern on the Malvern campus starting in September. The combined school would possibly have a new name, not St. Patrick's. In his letter Chaput says…

Parents waiting to pick their students up at Saint Monica's School Monday weren't ready to talk about. The news that their school will close at the end of June is a tough pill to swallow. Monday was the first day of school following the announcement on Friday that Saint Monica will close and be merged with St. Patrick's parish school in Malvern for the 2012-2013 school year. Word came Friday morning from the Philadelphia Catholic Archdiocese Blue Ribbon Commission and Archbishop Charles Chaput. Friday afternoon hundreds of school families and St. Monica parishioners held a prayer service to …

Shortly after the St. Monica Chruch and School community came together to pray at a church service Friday night in Berwyn, administrators and parents of St. Patrick met to discuss the news of the recommended merger of the two schools. The Archdiocese will close St. Monica at the end of the current school year and merge it with St. Patrick's school in Malvern. The combined school will be at the current St. Patrick campus in Malvern. Saint Patrick principal Patricia O'Donnell called the merger a mixed bag. "I think that it’s going to provide a good opportunity to sustain Catholic education here…

Saint Monica Parish School in Berwyn will close at the end of the current school year, according to chruch's pastor. Fr. William Trader made the official annoucnement in a letter emailed to parishoners early Friday afternoon, ahead of the official announcement from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The letter reads as follows: Dear Friends of Saint Monica's Parish, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has decided to accept the recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Commission and as a result, Saint Monica's School will be closed at the end of this school year.  Saint Patrick's School in Malvern will also …

This will be a difficult year for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. That was the word in a pastoral letter late last by new Archbiship Chaput. Friday could prove to be one of the most difficult days of the new year. An announcement is expected Friday at 4 p.m. on which parish schools and catholic high schools will be recommended for closing or consolidation. At St. Monica in Berwyn, a parish waits, and prays. It is not clear what fate awaits St. Monica School, or any of the dozens of other Catholic grade schools in the Archdiocese. St. Monica has already scheduled a prayer service for 5:30 p.m…