Tradition of Excellence

Core Values: Kindness, respect, gratitude

 

Mission:

St. Matthew School guides students’ hearts, minds, and souls to live as Jesus did. In the tradition of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary we encourage students to be people of faith, critical thinkers, and lifelong learners.


History:

Inspired by the charism of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Matthew School has faithfully served our Parish and the greater Bristol community since 1961. Our beautiful campus is nestled in a quiet neighborhood on Welch Drive, just steps away from the Forestville village. The guiding light of St. Matthew School has always been to provide a high quality, Catholic education, to all families who desire a strong foundation in academics and faith. Here’s how we got our start:

Before the arrival of the IHM Sisters, children of St. Matthew Church were taught religion by three Sisters of Christian Charity. When those sisters were recalled by their community, parishioners undertook the religious instruction. In 1958, seeing the need for a school which would provide a Catholic education for the children of the parish, Reverend Raymond J. Mulcahy requested IHM sisters.

In August 1961, the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, arrived to staff the newly constructed school. Until the building was completed, the sisters taught first and second grades in the basement of the Church, while third and fourth grades were taught in an unoccupied two room school in Bristol. In October 1961, our school was dedicated by Archbishop O’Brien. Each year a grade was added to the school. The first class graduated in June 1965, establishing a long line of traditions and the fulfillment of the hopes and dreams of the founders of the Parish and school communities.

Since its early days, while rooted in tradition, our school has always been committed to growth and change in the best interest of the children and families we serve. Originally only for children of the Parish, enrollment is now open to all. In commitment to providing an exceptional education, our Middle School is departmentalized, with courses being taught by teachers with experience and degrees in the areas they teach. Our curriculum has been enhanced with Honors Math for Grades 6-8, Spanish for all students, and many opportunities for computer science and robotics.

In 2005, Father Brian Monnerat engaged the Parish in a capital campaign, allowing us to construct our state-of-the art Library Media Center and Kindergarten classroom. During the 2011-2012 school year, we were blessed to celebrate our 50th anniversary!

At the conclusion of the 2015-2016 school year, the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary completed their loving service to the school community. We are forever indebted to Sr. Christina Joseph, Sister Regina Matulka, and all of the Sisters who cared for our school community for so many years.

In 2016, we welcomed Mrs. Helen Treacy to our school as the first lay Principal and beginning in 2022, we were blessed to have Dr. Liz Plasky, who has since assumed the role with loving enthusiasm.

As we approach 2024-2025, we do so with joyful hope. Interest in our school remains strong and we anticipate the largest cohort of Pre-Kindergarten students in years while committed to a comparatively very small class size and student-to-teacher ratio. More and more families are choosing a St. Matthew education and it's easy to see why. Our loving and respectful learning environment, coupled with exceptionally strong academics, extracurriculars, instructional technology, and robotics, students are poised for success now and in the future.

With stable, inspired leadership and teachers, St. Matthew School is well known throughout our community for its outstanding history of providing students with an education that will last a lifetime. There’s just something greater here.

Our future is bright! More to come.

Mrs. Pat and Mrs. B give our school a thumbs up!