Dr. Monica Gillespie (center, in black jacket), the head of St. Paul's School for Girls, helps hand pieces of cake to students and guests at the celebration of the school's 50th anniversary. (Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna / September 16, 2009) |
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St. Paul's School for Girls opened on Sept. 16, 1959, with 89 girls who studied in a building that resembled a "little L-shaped ranch house." The cafeteria was the heart of the school, the place where the girls ate, held dances and attended their senior prom. The hockey field was so rough the team had to toss rocks from the field before the girls played.
Today, the school in Brooklandville has 440 girls and 100 teachers and staff. Its facilities include state-of-the-art science labs, a cafe and an artificial turf field.
But one thing hasn't changed.
"The school has the same warm feeling it did on the opening day in 1959," said Karen Yeagle, a Lutherville resident who was one of several alumnae who spoke Wednesday at an assembly celebrating the school's 50th anniversary.
About half of the school's first graduating class attended the ceremonies. Several recalled that they had grown up in North Baltimore's Homeland and ridden a school bus to what was then an isolated area: Seminary Avenue and Falls Road in Brooklandville. Up the hill was St. Paul's School for Boys, but fraternization was strictly prohibited.
"We were seniors for four years," said Gail Smith, a member of the Class of 1963 who lives in Ruxton, who spoke about being the oldest students in a new school.
In 1963, their graduation was held on the school's lawn. They carried bouquets of baby ivy unadorned by flowers. That same shade of dark green, also with white, became the school's colors.
The school has ties to Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Baltimore. Members of that congregation founded a Benevolent Society, which educated orphaned girls and taught them domestic skills. That earlier institution changed names and locations over the years. In 1958, Benevolent Society members decided to start another school, and it opened a year later.
Alumnae speakers recalled Rosalind Levering, a former Bryn Mawr School teacher who was the first headmistress.
"She looked like a grandmother, and she treated us as her grandchildren sometimes," said Yeagle.
The former students paid tribute to a school that seemed to be founded with their educational needs in mind.
"I truly did not believe that I would graduate from high school before I came to St. Paul's," said 1964 graduate Hope Smith Pollard. "I had been to so many other schools. Finally, my father said, 'Here is a new one.' I had a wonderful first year, full of wisdom. My self-esteem was restored."
Today, the school in Brooklandville has 440 girls and 100 teachers and staff. Its facilities include state-of-the-art science labs, a cafe and an artificial turf field.
But one thing hasn't changed.
"The school has the same warm feeling it did on the opening day in 1959," said Karen Yeagle, a Lutherville resident who was one of several alumnae who spoke Wednesday at an assembly celebrating the school's 50th anniversary.
About half of the school's first graduating class attended the ceremonies. Several recalled that they had grown up in North Baltimore's Homeland and ridden a school bus to what was then an isolated area: Seminary Avenue and Falls Road in Brooklandville. Up the hill was St. Paul's School for Boys, but fraternization was strictly prohibited.
"We were seniors for four years," said Gail Smith, a member of the Class of 1963 who lives in Ruxton, who spoke about being the oldest students in a new school.
In 1963, their graduation was held on the school's lawn. They carried bouquets of baby ivy unadorned by flowers. That same shade of dark green, also with white, became the school's colors.
The school has ties to Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Baltimore. Members of that congregation founded a Benevolent Society, which educated orphaned girls and taught them domestic skills. That earlier institution changed names and locations over the years. In 1958, Benevolent Society members decided to start another school, and it opened a year later.
Alumnae speakers recalled Rosalind Levering, a former Bryn Mawr School teacher who was the first headmistress.
"She looked like a grandmother, and she treated us as her grandchildren sometimes," said Yeagle.
The former students paid tribute to a school that seemed to be founded with their educational needs in mind.
"I truly did not believe that I would graduate from high school before I came to St. Paul's," said 1964 graduate Hope Smith Pollard. "I had been to so many other schools. Finally, my father said, 'Here is a new one.' I had a wonderful first year, full of wisdom. My self-esteem was restored."
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