Historical Summer 2015 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Tim Cummins is finishing his second year as the principal of St. Roch School.
He brims with enthusiasm when he talks about the school and the students. Before becoming principal, Cummins spent 14 years as a 5th grade homeroom teacher. Before that, he taught history of religion and specialized in medieval history.
There are 207 students at St. Roch this year. Cummins noted that the 7th and 8th graders earned 2 banners at the History Museum.
The computer lab has been updated and the school now has tablets to use in the primary grades. Based on feedback from graduates, computer programming will become part of the curriculum for students in 4th through 8th grades.
All of the St. Roch seniors were admitted to their first choice high schools. Four are going to Metro and others to Rosati Kain, Cardinal Ritter, Visitation and Nerinex. Three of the 8th grade girls participated in Winter Weather Ware, collecting winter clothes for St. Patrick’s Center.
Some students are volunteering every other Tuesday at the soup kitchen run b the Missionaries of Charity and they also sponsored a trivia night to raise funds for this institution. Preschoolers and 3rd graders did a project on hatching baby chicks. St. Roch is one of only a few schools doing Algebra 1 in eighth grade.
In addition, some students are working with Forest Park Forever. St. Roch continues to stress the 4 elements on its logo: faith, education, discipline, service.
In the fall, new uniforms will sport this logo. About 40% of the students are from Skinker DeBaliviere and its neighboring area. Twenty-six zip codes are represented. Cummins is planning a Facebook page for the school.
He grew up in West County with a father from Tennessee and a mother from Illinois.
His parents met while they attended school here and both lodged on 6000 McPherson. Cummins thus had an early tie to our neighborhood, one that he has been very happy to renew.
Original photograph caption
St. Roch principal Tim Cummins. Descriptive caption supplied.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, Summer 2015.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2015_06.pdf, printed page(s) 5; PDF page(s) 5.
