We at St. Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Elementary School, as educators with a special mission,
strive to provide a Christ centered environment for the formation and growth of the whole child
– Spiritually, academically, physically, mentally, culturally, socially, and emotionally; in summary, we strive to “Teach as Jesus Did.”
Share the Spirit!
The fundamental purpose of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of San Antonio
is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus the Christ. His news is one of challenge, love, and unity.
His spirit is caught in the lives of students. Affirming that parents are the primary educators
and partners of education, we prepare students to share the spirit of Jesus through community building,
Christian acts of service, and word and worship. We commit to provide inspiring active learning
and quality education so that all students Share the Spirit of Catholic Education.
This Vision Statement calls forth core beliefs that affirm the missionary dynamics of all
Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of San Antonio as we move into the Third Millenium.
Foster a Catholic Identity
We prepare students to encounter the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to bring Catholic teachings
and values into their lives and the global world.
Invest in Community Building
We are committed to building a communal spirit that is the heart and reality of the Christian formation.
Provide Quality Education
We teach knowledge and critical skills so that students function fully as citizens within
a changing technological and multicultural community.
Encourage Moral Formation
We lead by example in teaching moral values that encourage respect and responsibility.
Appreciate Families
We recognize the family as the basic faith community in which all members
share as active participants in the educational process.
Support Parish Life
We believe that the school contributes to the parish through the formation of students
as active participants in the parish community.
Share Governance
We seek support and participation from those who share a common vision, mission, and philosophy.
Seek Equitable Distribution
We are challenged to establish just distribution of resources to ensure quality and
affordability to families and our church.
May, 1997 Archbishop Patrick Flores, DD - Archbishop of San Antonio
We strive to foster responsible Christian behavior, reflection and prayer, mastery of basic skills,
critical thinking and informed decision making.
We aim to provide quality education for all students and to implement within a loving faith community,
a four fold plan of Catholic Christian education: to develop in each student a personal faith and prayer relationship
with God, to Christian doctrine, to build community, and to serve others in an atmosphere of family spirit.
We hope to equip students with the necessary skills to become integrated persons who are happy and
positive in their response to the challenges of an ever-changing, multicultural society where they will be active
participants in a technologically complex world of interdependence. St. Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic School is
totally committed to its education ministry in the guidance and direction of the learner as a Christian person and
as a member of the community which he/she lives and interacts.
We recognize that parents are the primary educators of their children; therefore, we expect and encourage parent
interest, involvement, and support in all activities concerning the growth and development of their children.
Developmental goals and instructional objectives are accomplished through the cooperation and collaborative
efforts of administration, faculty, and students and their parents.
The continuous and dynamic formation through instruction and discipline provides the learner with necessary
skills and experiences so that he/she may realize the ultimate goals of Catholic education, therefore becoming a
responsible adult who can meet the challenges of the future and the demands of society.
A Brief History: 1940 – 2005
The parish of Saint Mary Magdalen was founded on January 1, 1940, with Rev. James M. Boyle as its first pastor.
The territory was taken from Saint Ann’s jurisdiction – the parish to its immediate south.
The boundary lines for this parish were as follows:
Southern Boundary: Hildebrand Ave. between San Pedro and Fredericksburg Road.
Western Boundary: Fredericksburg Road N.W. from Hildebrand Ave.
Eastern Boundary: Highway 66, north of Hildebrand Ave.
Northern Boundary: Five miles beyond Basse Road and its western extension.
In 1942 a five room frame residence was purchased from Saint Ann’s and moved on to the property.
It was in this building that the first Saint Mary Magdalen School was opened in 1942.
The building served as a combination of both Convent and school.
Sister Mary Patricia of the Incarnate Word sisters was the first principal.
The school had an enrollment of forty – five students in grades 1 -4, and a faculty of two Incarnate Word Sisters.
The parish and school grew rapidly and in 1943 an addition had to be made to the five room “cottage”
to accommodate more students. In 1944 a one room frame building was erected. While small, the undertaking of
these two buildings was extremely difficult due to war-time restrictions and scarcity of building materials.
In 1945 the Patio Classroom was added and again in 1946 two additional classrooms were constructed.
Then in 1948 construction was begun on the first wing of the presently existing school.
By 1949, with the completion of this wing the school had an enrollment of over 300 students,
a faculty of seven Incarnate Word Sisters and one lay teacher, teaching all grades form Kindergarten through eighth.
In 1950 two more classrooms were added to the frame building and in 1952 three story,
nine classroom addition was made to the permanent school building.
In 1954, a convent with the capacity to house twelve Sisters was completed.
The Incarnate Word Sisters living in the convent all taught in Saint Mary Magdalen School.
In 1955, due to the ever rapid growth of the parish and the ever increasing enrollment at
St. Mary Magdalen School, it was decided that it was time to divide Saint Mary Magdalen Parish and start
a new parish in the Dellview area. This new parish is now Saint Gregory the Great Parish.
By 1956 Saint Gregory’s had an enrollment of over 800 and Saint Mary Magdalen’s was over 972.
Due to further parish growth, Holy Spirit Parish and school was founded in 1964 from Saint Mary Magdalen’s.
During the first twenty years of growth Saint Mary Magdalen’s had gone from forty-five students and a
faculty of two to an enrollment of approximately a thousand and a faculty of twenty – Ten Religious and ten lay teachers.
In the early 70’s, like many other parochial schools across the nation Saint Mary Magdalen’s enrollment
took a downward trend. Three factors were mainly responsible for this change: 1) The shortage of Religious
teachers in the classrooms, resulting in higher tuition rates. 2) The change in demographics, younger families
moving north. 3) The mandated class size by the State.
In 1973 the Incarnate Word Sisters informed the Pastor, Monsignor Herbst, that they could no longer
provide Sisters to staff Saint Mary Magdalen’s and would withdraw the principal and teaching Sisters at the
end of that school year. This announcement was met with the inevitable decision of closing the school altogether,
a decision Monsignor Herbst was not in favor of, so he approached the Presentation Sisters on Callaghan Road
with the request for Sisters to administer and teach in his school.
In September 1974, three Presentation Sisters were transferred from Saint Gregory the Great School,
one as Principal and two as classroom teachers to help keep the school open. Assisted by some dedicated lay
teachers to help keep the school open. Assisted by some dedicated lay teachers and two Incarnate Word Sisters,
the school opened with an enrollment of 257 students from grades 1 – 8. There was a privately run Kindergarten
run on the parish grounds. A new era had begun.
Many remodeling and structural changes were made over the next twenty years.
In 1986 the parish formulated an expansion plan called “Vision 90-Parish Expansion Program.
The completion date for this Vision was set for 1990, to coincide with the Golden Anniversary of the founding
of the parish. The major goals of this program included the razing of the original “5-Room cottage”,
the first school of 1942, the erecting of a new Parish Family Center and a Gymnasium. The Parish Family Center
comprised of a Hall to accommodate 450 people, a separate cafeteria area, three large meeting rooms,
a commercial kitchen, restrooms and storage rooms. The gymnasium was built on a vacant lot east of
the school across Buckeye Street. The Parish had to get permission to close a section of this street to provide
safety for the school children going to and from the gym for Volleyball court, spectator space and dressing areas.
The school benefited greatly from the realization of this vision.
During this same period of parish growth, the school was undergoing a major Asbestos removal project.
This was extremely costly and put a real burden on the school budget and personnel time.
An additional financial problem hit the school at the same time. The furnace in the basement had to be replaced.
All of these added expenses hindered the principal and faculty from achieving many of the goals and dreams
for Saint Mary Magdalen. School opened in 1994 with an enrollment of 264 and just about Asbestos Free and ready
to start its self evaluation of Accreditation in 1995. The school successfully completed the accreditation and
to this date continues to provide quality Catholic education to the children of this community.
During February 2006 the school underwent yet another school accreditation assessment given by TCCED.
We did tremendously well and received rating for continued accreditation.
