Barbara Bergin and the Class of 1975 were honored at the St. Peter’s Timothy C. Kelly School Celebration at the North Hempstead Country Club in Port Washington on Saturday night, March 21. More than 220 people attended the party, including many graduates of the class of 1975 and even some of the teachers who taught them. The class of 1975 is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Bergin is the Director of Early Childhood Education at St. Peter’s. The school celebration was renamed the Timothy C. Kelly School Celebration in 2002 in honor of Tim Kelly, a St. Peter’s parent who died on Sept. 11, 2001.
Both Bergin and her husband Marty graduated from St. Peter’s School in 1975. Bergin met her husband at St. Peter’s in kindergarten. According to Bergin, “I knew back then that he was the one for me.” They are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this year. All of their four children graduated from St. Peter’s. The Bergins now live in Manhasset. Bergin received her BA from Cortland and MA in speech language pathology from Hofstra University. She is currently working on a MA in administration at Fordham University.
When her youngest son was in first grade, Bergin began working at St. Peter’s, first as a fourth-grade substitute, then running the Mommy & Me program and working in the
library and computer room. She wanted to advance the early childhood program and 
was elated when she was promoted to Director of Early Childhood Education at St. Peter’s, which encompasses Mommy & Me, Toddler 2’s, Preschool 3’s and Pre-K 4’s programs. Bergin has worked tirelessly to develop and advance the early childhood programs at St. Peter’s School. Bergin enjoys giving new families tours of St. Peter’s and showing all that St. Peter’s Little Learners program has to offer. “I love giving new families tours of the Early Childhood classrooms. I call it the happy hallway,” said Bergin.
Several teachers who taught in 1975 attended the gala. Robert DiStefano, Bergin’s sixth grade teacher, Mary Carey, the Spanish teacher, Peter Larmour the science teacher, and Sister Rose Maron, an IHM sister, who was the principal of St. Peter’s in 1975. Many people from the class of 1975 were at the party. Some of them still live in Port Washington. Bergin spoke at the gala, saying “St. Peter’s has been in Port Washington for 90 years, and I want it to be around for another 90.”
