St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Macon celebrating 150 years of education

St. Joseph's Catholic School in Macon is celebrating 150 years of educating children.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Macon is celebrating 150 years of educating children.

The school is also celebrating the start of a brand new school year.

The school was established in 1872 and has kept a lot of its traditions while also incorporating new ones.

For example, Monday mornings always start with a prayer, a tradition that’s been going for 150 years.

Principal Amanda Rogers says 150 years is a milestone.

“To me it’s just a testament to community, a testament to the families that came before that made this possible, a witness to faith in the community,” she said.

Over the years, the school has expanded from 1st to 6th grade to include students as young as two years old.

It’s also added electives that teachers like Lucinda Simpson say weren’t there when she attended.

“We’ve added theater this year,” she said. “We add clusters in the afternoons where students get to choose if they’re going to do fishing or arts.”

Simpson says in her 15 years at St. Joseph’s, getting to teach legacy students has been the best part.

Legacy students are students who have a family member who also attended the school.

“Parents keep coming back and bringing their children,” she said. “It’s just unbelievable, and the connection of family when you walk through the doors and the love and the faith that we have, it’s just interwoven, it’s just amazing.”

Fourth grader Savannah Huffman, a legacy student, says the school is a place that brings everyone together.

“Our family has been to St. Joseph’s, and more family has been to St. Joseph’s, so it’s kind of special,” she said.

The school has its highest enrollment this year with more than 150 students.