St. Vincent de Paul Regional School in Mays Landing has been a faith-filled and family-centered school teaching students from preschool through 8th grade since 1961. Since its opening, thousands of students have attended and grown up throughout their years there. Teachers and staff have come and gone, but the core values of the school have stayed the same.
Those core values are instilled within the school community in large part thanks to the dedicated staff. One staff member in particular is the current and long-standing principal, Linda Pirolli. Miss Pirolli is seen as the face of St. Vincent’s. She has been leading the school for 30 straight years and 50 total years within the Diocese of Camden overall.
That many years dedicated to providing children with a faith-based education isn’t heard about too often. With it being her 50th year, the students and staff at St. Vincent’s decided it was time to celebrate Pirolli and show her what she means to the school community.
On Monday, May 4, around 1 p.m., the various teachers and staff created a diversion in order to get Pirolli to the multi-purpose room where the children were waiting for their surprise.
The 8th-grade students put together a song they performed with help from the pre-K through 7th-grade classes. There were decorations and a video montage of past and present students, alumni, colleagues, and all others Pirolli had touched, talking about their experience with her and what she’s done for them.
Kelly Riordan, Advancement Director at St. Vincent’s, shared that Pirolli isn’t one to ever want to draw any fanfare to herself, which is why the school chose to surprise her.
“We felt that 50 years needed this attention,” Riordan said. “She deserves the attention and accolades that we’re giving her. She does so much for everyone else, so this was our turn to do something for her.”
As the head of the school, Pirolli doesn’t get the same hours that teachers do with the children in the classrooms every day, but you would never know that based on her and every student’s interactions.
Riordan shared that Pirolli knows every student’s name, their family, and what’s going on in their lives.
“She’s on such a comfortable level with all the kids, they respect her, but they also love her,” Riordan said. “She has this presence where faith and education go hand in hand, and she just brings out the best in everyone.”
While the current students got to celebrate her during the fun surprise party on Monday, alumni were welcomed to come along with some past colleagues. They didn’t want to give too much of an open invitation because of the surprise factor, and Riordan shared that, “If we opened it to everyone Ms. Pirolli had an impact on, we’d need a football stadium to host everyone.”
The goal of this surprise celebration was to let her know how much she is loved, how many people she has made an impression on, and they certainly succeeded in that.
“We’re a small school, but there’s a lot of love and family that she really encourages here. She watches out for everyone, she embodies family and that’s what makes our school so special,” Riordan said. “You walk in our doors and immediately feel like you’re a part of the family and community, and that’s due to Miss Pirolli.”
