Last academic year, the seventh-grade literature class at Assumption School in Morristown, N.J., tested their creativity with a fun assignment: making board games based on classic novels. Vanessa Leloia and her small team of students produced a game about “The Hounds of the Baskervilles,” a Sherlock Holmes mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle.
“It was great. We made up our own rules. The objective was for players to get back to Baskerville Hall,” said Leloia, now an eighth-grader at Assumption, where she has been a student since fourth grade. She praised their teacher, Maryann Kudlacik, as “funny, sweet, and interactive. She had us laughing when she did a dramatic reading of ‘The Telltale Heart’ by Edgar Allen Poe.”
Every day, students feel the love of learning — like when literature comes alive — at Assumption School, which celebrates its 175th anniversary this academic year. On Sept. 5, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited the parish to celebrate the opening Mass for the celebrations with faculty, staff, students, families, and parishioners. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education named Assumption a National Blue Ribbon School.
Assumption’s 455 students walk in smiling — and stay that way. It starts with Sister of Charity Merris Larkin, principal, and Msgr. John Hart, Assumption Parish’s pastor, who greets them at the door every morning. It’s among the many ways the principal makes her students feel welcomed and loved.
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Principal for 31 years, Sister Larkin visits their classrooms, has conversations with them, gives them hugs, and sometimes wears crazy costumes. Assumption has built a community ready to evangelize the Gospel.
Sister Larkin follows in the tradition of her Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth and certified lay faculty, who have staffed the school since its founding in 1850. The Sisters of Charity arrived in 1875. The school has expanded through various buildings on the parish property, eventually settling on neighboring Macculloch Avenue.
“Assumption feels like home — like family. It’s a happy and wholesome place. We have wonderful children, teachers, and parents. We prepare our students for high school. We see their potential,” said Sister Larkin, who started as a teacher at Assumption 46 years ago. “Parents trust Assumption with their kids. Several of our students are children or grandchildren of alumni.”
During the day, Assumption also gets serious as students dive into its rigorous curriculum at the school Sister Larkin calls the “brain factory.” The school has a large media center and offers many class trips and activities. The community also lives its faith with religious services and service projects.
The supportive relationship of Sister Larkin and Msgr. Hart is at the heart of the school’s success, characterized by low staff and student turnover. Msgr. Hart became Assumption’s pastor in 2009.
“Assumption Parish has so much joy and pride in the accomplishments of Sister Merris and the teachers and staff and the dedicated parents who send their precious children to our school. Assumption provides excellent academic training as well as fun and enrichment so students can thrive,” Msgr. Hart said. “We are grateful to God for the school and the parish religious education program, where children grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus and the mercy of God.”
175 years: Morristown school promotes love of learning