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THE HISTORY OF ST. ANNE CATHOLIC SCHOOL: “Ignited by Faith, United in Learning”
St. Anne Catholic School has a particularly rich history that begins in 1951 with 17 students enrolled in kindergarten and first grade. In 1954, St. Anne became the first racially integrated school in the state.
Over the years, the school has grown tremendously, and while many things have changed, others have stayed the same.
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“For seven decades we have held onto our foundational traditions like our May Crowning and our Saints Program,” says Principal Shaileen Riginos. “Over the past 15 years, we have broadened who we serve tremendously. Our school community reflects the increasing diversity of the church and our growing Vietnamese and Hispanic populations.”
Today, St. Anne Catholic School serves over 300 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The mission of the school is to serve the whole person when educating students.
“Spiritually, we serve students with faith formation throughout the school day, and emotionally, we have very small class sizes and nurturing teachers and staff,” Principal Riginos says. “Academically, we balance the tradition of Catholic education with current instructional practices, and physically, we have opportunities for students to play sports from 3 years old through high school. Finally, culturally, our students are learning through music, band, liturgical choir, art, and other ways.”
Principal Riginos joined St. Anne in 2010 as a parent and a former educator in public schools. She became a teacher at the school in 2011 and then Associate Principal for a year before becoming Principal in 2013.
“My children led me to St. Anne School, but once I saw the incredible things they were doing, I couldn’t wait to get a job here,” Principal Riginos says. “I appreciate all our traditions like our Kindergarten Graduation, the sweatshirt our eighthgraders design every year, and the mural our sixth-graders create for the school.”
This unique school spirit — rooted in faith, family, and tradition — has been an important part of life at St. Anne’s for many generations. Sister Maryanne Winterberg, IHM, served as our Principal from 1986 to 1992. During her time at our school, there was one class for each grade — up to sixth.
“It was very nice for a fire drill because every class opened up to a porch!” she laughs.
Sr. Maryanne recalls that she initially felt overwhelmed when she received the assignment to serve at our school — it was her first assignment as Principal, and it required her to move from her home in Philadelphia to South Carolina.
“But it was a wonderful experience,” Sr. Maryanne says. “People there were so welcoming. I still keep in touch with many of them.
“It was a very family-oriented spirit there — it was just a happy place,” Sr. Maryanne adds. “The faculty and the parents were extremely helpful. I have lots of memories there, from making pretzels on the porch every Ash Wednesday, to when we were actually on the front page of an educational magazine for having a map of the United States painted in the schoolyard. Parents came, and we had stencils made. The children were wonderful, we were happy, and teachers were happy.”
As the school has grown over the years, it is now comprised of two campuses — St. Anne’s Lower School Campus is located near St. Anne Catholic Church, and the Upper School Campus is near St. Philip Neri Catholic Church. Principal Riginos sees the distance between campuses as an advantage for the larger Catholic community.
“We have an opportunity to serve the broader community as the only Catholic school in this county,” Principal Riginos says. “We have an opportunity to bring parishes closer together, and we also have students from all the parishes in our community here.”
While the past 18 months have been challenging, as we head into a new year, the focus for Catholic schools in the diocese will be “Ignited by Faith, United in Learning.”
“We have learned so many new ways of teaching and learning in these past months,” Principal Riginos says. “The faculty and staff here at St. Anne have put together some unique plans for next year, and it will be one of the best years ever.”
This coming academic year will be a year of unity in faith and learning as we celebrate the rich history of St. Anne Catholic School.
“We are one Catholic school community from kindergarten through 12th grade,” Principal Riginos says. “Together, we will focus on strengthening our community in Christ, and unity is the key to success.”
