1952

In 1952, St. Cyril School opened its doors for the first time. The entire staff of the Holy Cross Sisters came from St. Mary of the Lake in South Bend, Indiana. The original building, a used army barracks, housed 147 children in three classes.

1958

The first class of St. Cyril Cougars graduate!

1964

Just a little more than ten years after its beginning, the school had a staff of seventeen teachers, nine Sisters and eight lay people. The enrollment reached its peak in 1964, with 650 children.

1970

In 1970, it was decided to reorganize the school into an innovative and completely different type of educational program. Three departments, the Primary (1-3), Intermediate (4-6) and Junior High (7-8), were formed. Such a program demanded smaller classes and since the school had reached its peak and two new Catholic Schools had been established on the east side of the city, the school’s enrollment was decreased to a maximum efficiency of 400.

1972

A need was realized for parent involvement in the school community; two advisory organizations were developed (PALS: Parents Active in Learning Situations)(School Board: parents active in fundraising, etc.).

1974

The Paulist Fathers from Scarsdale, New York, were invited by Bishop Green to take over the leadership of the parish. Fr. Bill Dewan, CSP, became the new pastor.

1976

In June 1976, the Sisters of the Holy Cross withdrew their services. Ms. Marie Nicholson was hired as Principal with an all lay teaching faculty. A reorganization of the school expanded the departments to four: Primary (1-2), Intermediate (3-4), Advanced Intermediate (5-6) and Junior High (7-8).

1977

Parish offices moved to the Parish Center, which was formerly the convent. A preschool was begun and the Spanish program was implemented in grades 1-8.

1979

Students, as a community and with the community, began sharing in the weekly Wednesday morning Mass and the weekly School Express was established.