GREENSBORO — The Our Lady of Grace School community enjoyed a festive night at Greensboro’s Carolina Theatre Dec. 13 as they celebrated the school’s 70th anniversary. First, the school family gathered for a reception with food and drinks and live piano music, followed by a showing of “Home Alone” in the historic theater.

Meagan Kopp, the school’s director of advancement, said the PTO worked hard to organize the event. She also reflected on what Our Lady of Grace means to her both as a former student and a current parent.

“Our Lady of Grace’s academics prepared me to tackle any challenge I encountered later in school and even in my daily work life, and the Catholic values and faith instilled in me have helped guide me through the years,” she said.

When Kopp and her husband were first considering where to send their daughter – now in eighth grade – for kindergarten, they toured Our Lady of Grace.

“I was so deeply impressed with the school. From the teachers and staff to the students themselves, I could feel the love and support as I walked around,” Kopp recalled. “I knew that OLG was going to challenge my daughter academically in the best ways, while also offering enrichment through the special classes that were offered, along with plenty of extracurricular activities like athletics and camps, all balanced with Catholic faith.”

Alumna Jessica Cupito Carney currently has two children at the school and a recent graduate. When she was halfway through first grade, her family moved to Greensboro from Ohio, where it seemed like everyone was Catholic.

“When we arrived in North Carolina, it was a bit of a culture shock that not everyone shared our faith. OLG quickly began to feel like our home away from home as we were immediately welcomed into the community,” Carney said in a recent interview, noting how the teachers nurtured her academic and spiritual development.

“My first-grade teacher, Elaine Hoover, helped me learn that life would be OK in a new place with new people. My second-grade teacher, Molly Farrington, helped me nurture excitement for the Eucharist,” she said. “Margene Wilkins, my eighth-grade teacher, taught us how to diagram sentences and what it means to fully participate in Mass.”

Our Lady of Grace Catholic School was dedicated by Bishop Vincent Waters on Nov. 15, 1953, just one year after the church’s dedication. The Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters from Scranton, Pa., also arrived that year to staff the school. In 1976, Ven. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen celebrated Mass at the church and blessed the school’s activity center, which added a gym and classrooms, and a new school building opened in 2014.

In honor of the milestone anniversary, Principal Catherine Rusch invites former students to join Our Lady of Grace’s alumni network. Alumni are also invited for homecoming basketball games Jan. 6, 2024, starting at 11:30 a.m. in the OLG gym, where there will be halftime fun and swag.

Former students are also invited to attend the school’s annual auction April 20, 2024. Look for details in the coming months on the school’s Facebook page.

—  Annie Ferguson