History
of Mount Alvernia Academy
Mount Alvernia Academy
is a Private Catholic Elementary School for boys and girls from nursery
through grade six, under the auspices of the Missionary Franciscan Sisters
of the Immaculate Conception and their Provincial, Sister Michele Craig
and the members of the Provincial Council. The school community is composed
of Franciscan Sisters, Lay Teachers, and families from varying parishes
and ethnic backgrounds.
The name Alvernia
is derived from Mount Alverno in Italy, where St. Francis received the
Stigmata (imprint of the five wounds of Christ). Following the example
of St. Francis, the Faculty encourages the students to follow Christ
in simplicity as St. Francis did and to combine their spiritual growth
with their academic achievements.
The present school began
in 1927 with a boarding school for girls and a day school for boys and
girls. Thirteen students were enrolled the first year, and in a short
time the enrollment increased to seventy-three. The first graduation
was held in 1933. In 1938, a new school was built because of the increase
in the number of students. Hayes Auditorium, dedicated to Mother Mary
Ignatius Hayes, the foundress of the Missionary Franciscan Sisters,
was added to the complex in 1948.
Since its founding, the
school has progressed steadily under the unswerving loyalty of a dedicated
faculty, staff, Parents' Advisory Board and Home and School Association.
True to the tradition of the first graduating class, the students of
today are still winning scholarships to schools in competitive examinations,
athletics, and art and science fairs.
