---

As Catholic school staff and administrators look ahead to the beginning of the 2009 school year, the faculty and staff at Holy Spirit School in East Greenbush are celebrating the hiring of a new principal, Roger Rooney. Since June 30 Mr. Rooney has been at the school preparing for a new academic year. Students at three other Catholic schools will also see a new face in the principal’s office: Patty Bliss at St. Mary’s in Oneonta, Mary Roshkoski at St. Mary’s in Waterford, and Giovanni Virgiglio at St. Mary’s Institute in Amsterdam. Mr. Rooney, a parishioner of Sacred Heart parish in Gloversville, was recently retired from his long-standing teaching and administrative career as Assistant Superintendent of Schools in the Gloversville School District. To Holy Spirit, he brings 35 years of experience in teaching and administrative work. Bronx time It all began with his first job as a teacher at Our Lady of Refuge Catholic School in the Bronx. “I actually began my teaching career in a Catholic School,” he told The Evangelist. After three years, Mr. Rooney moved into the public school system where he taught middle school English for eight years. He then went into administration, serving for the next 24 years in the positions of assistant principal, principal, interim and then assistant superintendent in the Gloversville district. He retired this past June. With that retirement, he said that he knew he had more “good years” to give, that he didn’t want to just stay at home. “I’m 58 years old. I started to wonder where I would be happy and what I could do,” he said. Mr. Rooney said he wanted to channel his energy and expertise productively. His Catholic school teaching experience came back to him. “I was born and raised Catholic. I attended Catholic schools, taught by the Sisters from Poland. I also attended Catholic college. Why not go back to what I loved, I asked myself. Why not give back what had been given to me as a student?” Coming East Mr. Rooney and his wife hope to move to the Capital District after his retirement. With their two adult daughters grown and on their own, the couple felt that this was the time to begin working towards that move. “Coincidentally, I’d heard about the principal opening at Holy Spirit,” he said. He contacted the Catholic Schools Office at the Pastoral Center. They set up an interview with the search committee. After two interviews, the committee offered him the position. “When my wife and I first visited Holy Spirit, we got out of the car and both of us had the same feeling that we had ‘come home.’ For me it was a sign. “I look at teaching as a continuation of the expression of my faith, a gift given to me that was affirmed in my own Catholic education. I have always felt that my commitments to education and my participation in my parish life and own faith have been whole person experiences." He said that he taught faith formation to students in all of the parishes he and his wife have belonged to. He also sings in the choir. Additionally, he was a member of Sacred Heart’s parish council for 18 years. “I come to Holy Spirit, not as a retiree but with a great sense of renewal and energy as a teacher and administrator. I am looking forward to this opportunity to help fashion the education and lives of these wonderful students,” Mr. Rooney said. Higher hopes “I was quite impressed with the quality of education and formation that was already present here. I hope to take what is a structured, established curriculum to the next level. I hope to build on Sister Maureen [Moffitt’s] great work to brighten this already shining star. I know these students can accomplish even more than they already have,” he said. His goals are twofold: to ensure sure that each child fulfills his or her potential; and to study and improve the school’s curriculum. “I want Catholic education at this school to find ways to continue its already excellent record of being as competitive as possible with other schools,” he said. “My faith has always been an integral part of my work and my life. Now I can express that more fully in the Catholic school environment.” Mr. Rooney and the three other new school leaders will gather at the Pastoral Center in Albany for a commissioning prayer service on Tuesday, August 26. (Roger Rooney is an Irish Tenor, often invited to sing for family and community events. “When it comes to Irish music I seem to always be called forward to sing,” he said. “I love it, it’s great fun.”  For many years he directed school plays and musicals. He is also a storyteller, having visited schools, libraries, senior centers and hospitals to tell his “Irish flavored stories.”) [[In-content Ad]]

---