If you went to Catholic school between the ages of 5 and 14, this will hit home. If you didn’t, sit back and enjoy the journey.
I was a Catholic school kid from kindergarten until a month into my senior year of high school. (See the January article called “My Confidence Came and Went.”) That’s a long time in Catholic school! My parents enrolled my brother and me in Incarnation School in Ewing, New Jersey — the same school my mom attended.
I don’t remember much about kindergarten, but what I do remember is a lettered carpet where all the students took naps. It was my favorite part of the day.
In first grade, I had a nun as my teacher and I was spooked. I’d heard my mom talk about the stories of nuns being very disciplinary. Not my teacher! Sister Helen was awesome. I don’t think she’d say the same about me, though, because I met my best friend Karl that year and we wreaked havoc in her classroom.
In second grade, I met another best friend, Bobby. If teachers thought Karl and I were bad together, Bobby and I took home first prize. Both of these guys are now super successful in their careers and are the exact opposite of “bad” kids.
Now, I won’t go into detail about every grade, but I can tell you a few things only Catholic grade school kids know.
We didn’t have lockers — we had wooden closets to hang up our jackets and stash our lunch boxes. They were heavy as hell and made a loud creaking noise. Wasn’t there a bottle of WD-40 lying around?
We didn’t move from classroom to classroom. We sat at the same desk and kept all our books and supplies inside it. A cafeteria? Not at my school. We ate lunch right at our desks. Sometimes our teachers let us push the desks into squares so we could eat with our friends.
Yes, we had recess all the way through eighth grade. Public school kids are reading this and rolling their eyes, but they’re just jealous we got to play basketball on a hoop with no net and kickball on the blacktop.
There was detention, but it was rarely handed out. I was one of the rare cases. Luckily, our principal at the time was a huge Philly sports fan, so I’d sit with her and she’d quiz me about Eric Lindros and the Flyers or whether Ray Rhodes was the right coach for the Eagles. Not too bad, right?
Instead of detention, the more common punishment was standing against the brick school building during recess while the other kids played. I got to know that brick wall really well.
I wasn’t a bad kid, necessarily. I did my homework, tried to participate in class, and even tucked my yellow, cardboard-feeling polo shirt into my even more cardboard-feeling gray pants. I just couldn’t stop talking. I apologize to all the teachers who had to deal with that. I was kind of listening, I swear!
It makes sense I ended up as a DJ on the radio who talks for a living. (Quick plug: You can hear me every weekday on *The Andie Summers Show* on 92.5 XTU from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.)
We Catholic school kids had to go to church every Friday. I bet any Catholic school kid could recite “On Eagles’ Wings” or “Be Not Afraid” from memory. To this day, I’ll randomly start singing “One Bread, One Body” and think, *Somebody should remix this song.* Then I tell myself, *Yo, that’s super sacrilegious, Donnie!*
Where were we? Oh yeah. Catholic school kids.
From Flower Sales and Donut Days to McDonald’s Day and cinnamon chews from Sister Saint Zita at the snack cart, to the Book Fair and our very own dances in the auditorium — Incarnation was our life.
I don’t miss getting in trouble for talking every day, but I do miss that feeling of knowing everyone, of being a big fish in a small pond. I’d go back to those days in a heartbeat.
Just don’t make me wear that Flynn O’Hara uniform again.
Donnie Black was born and grew up in Ewing Township. He currently works at radio station XTU in Philadelphia as a producer, on air personality and promotions director.
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