St. Mary’s High School has seen many changes over its 75-year history, but not everything has changed.
“While the school has changed dramatically over that time and the populations we serve, [St. Mary’s] mission hasn’t,” Gerard Buckley, principal of St. Mary’s High School, said.
The school will host a 75th anniversary celebration to honor St. Mary’s continued mission and the individuals who have graced its institution.
The celebration will kick off with a 75th-anniversary gala on May 3 at Plandome Country Club.
The gala will feature eight alums as nominees, including NBA player Danny Green and NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, who was killed in the line of duty last year.
Buckley said the honorees illustrate all the walks of life they serve, from professional athletes to clergy and teachers.
The alumni weekend will be held the following month. It will include an alumni lacrosse game June 6 and several more events, including a mass, cocktail parties and reception June 7.
Buckley said the primary goal of the celebration is to honor the 75 years of Catholic education in Manhasset and its accomplishments over the decades.
“Beyond that, it’s looking to support the next generation of St. Mary’s students,” he said.
Buckley said reaching a 75th anniversary milestone is an accomplishment regardless of the circumstances, but it is even more special given current challenges.
“We’re in a time where Catholic education across the country faces various challenges,” Buckley said. “To be able to be standing with St. Mary’s celebrating 75 years is a testament to the strength of the institution.”
Buckley said he is most looking forward to welcoming some of the school’s oldest alumni, including graduates from the 1950s and 60s, and seeing them gather with more recent graduates.
St. Mary’s opened in 1949 as a parish high school for boys and girls. At its inception, the school encompassed just one hall—the Immaculatta Hall, which still stands today.
A decade later in 1959 the school expanded to its second building, Marist Hall. Buckley said that on the day the hall opened in the middle of the school year, the boys were asked to pick up their desks and walk their belongings to their new classrooms.
With the introduction of the second hall came the separation of boys and girls into separate classrooms. This separation remained until the school reunified as a co-ed institution in 1993.
Buckley joined St. Mary’s as its assistant principal in 2013, assuming his current role as principal in 2018.
With over a decade spent at St. Mary’s, Buckley said he has already witnessed continued growth at the school. Examples include expanding its STEM program, greater achievements in AP exams and impressive college placement for students.
Buckley said the school’s student population has also decreased over the past 75 years. But there is a silver lining, he said, which allows for smaller classroom sizes that provide a more intimate learning atmosphere.
He said the school strongly emphasizes community, exemplified through its weekly Monday assemblies where students gather with their classmates, receive praise, listen to announcements and pray together.
“There are quality friendships across grade levels and across towns that the kids speak to really appreciating that component of St. Mary’s, that it allows them to have a more diverse group of friends and not just kids down the block,” Buckley said. “It gives them a better perspective on the world.”
Looking back on his tenure with the school, Buckley said one of the most exciting moments was when the girls’ basketball team won the state championship in 2022, and the fraternity of students he witnessed.
He said vans of students were transported to Hofstra University, where they watched the game and cheered on their fellow students.
“We’re not a huge school, but man we had such a great presence,” Buckley said. “Faces painted blue and white, screaming for our girls, and the girls won and were named state champs. It was just such a great showing of spirit and support.”
But Buckley also reflected on the touching moment of witnessing more than 20 students who sought to complete their Catholic journey, five of whom were not religious before.
“I watched as two separate students had asked teachers to be their sponsors, so as they were baptized, there was a teacher with their hand on their shoulder,” Buckley said. “But then I think even more powerful to me was the young man who asked one of the seniors to be his sponsor… As a Catholic school, I think that’s the greatest affirmation of what we’re doing and what we’re called to do.”
