On January 10, 1876, the Sisters of the Order of St. Joseph opened the doors of the Nativity School to 150 expected students. One hundred and twenty-five years later, the current 132 students, their families, the parish and the school staff will commemorate the landmark anniversary of Brockport’s Catholic school.

Bishop Matthew Clark was to celebrate a Mass at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 7 at the Church of the Nativity of the BVM. The Mass was immediately followed by a reception at the school. Children from the school participated in the Mass by performing two songs and reading the offertory petitions.

Observance of the 125th anniversary will continue throughout 2001 with special activities at the school each month. On September 22, a golf tournament for alumni will be held at Salmon Creek Country Club followed by a dinner dance at the Mapledale Party House. Emcee will be Phyl Contestable, an alumni and noted local performer. On September 23, a family picnic will be held at a place yet to be announced.

According to one of this year’s organizers, Mary Hussong-Kallen, the reunion events in honor of the 100th anniversary in 1976 attracted 350 people, and organizers are expecting a similar turn-out this year.

The current school building bears little resemblance to the original Nativity School building that opened in 1876. That first school was located on the west corner of Utica and Erie Street and was converted from the Sadler family home into a school and convent. The school was later moved across the street and the old building razed to make room for a playground and parking lot. The original Nativity Church moved from the Utica Street location to Main Street and the school eventually grew to its present size stretching from Holley Street to Erie Street along the east side of Utica Street.

A 1944 fire heavily damaged the school building. During the months it took to repair the school, the lower four grades were housed in the Episcopal Parish Home and the upper four grades found space in the parlors of the First Presbyterian Church.

Originally, the Nativity School instructed students from first grade through eighth grade. Now it offers programs for pre-school through fifth grade. Nearly 100 families are represented in the student body, according to Principal Maggie Frank, many of whom are second and third generation Nativity students.

"I have people that stop by my office and say, ‘this was my eighth grade classroom,’" Frank said. "The school’s smallness and tradition make it very easy to get to know the children and their families," said Frank, who is in her second year as principal.

Hussong-Kallen said an effort has been made to invite all alumni to the Mass and the activities in September. Records, particularly those from before the 1944 fire, are incomplete so Hussong-Kallen asks that any alumni who have not been contacted, call her at 637-5183 or Noel Myers at 637-5514.

A group of alumni are looking into the possibility of establishing an Alumni Foundation as a means of offering support to the school and helping classmates remain in touch with each other. "The Nativity School holds a special place in the hearts of those of us who attended it," Hussong-Kallen said. "While Catholic education has changed over the years, the specialness of the Nativity School has not."