RUNNEMEDE – In words, smiles, handwritten cards and song, Saint Teresa Regional School students expressed their appreciation for area first responders Feb. 2 at a Catholic Schools Week breakfast attended by Bishop Dennis Sullivan.
“It’s so important to say thank you in recognition of what they do. They always watch out for us,” said Sister Nancy Kindelan, IHM, school principal.
“We show our appreciation, gratitude, and respect for who they are and what they do,” she added.
Bishop Sullivan joined Sister Nancy and students in greeting first responders as they walked into the school cafeteria. The Bishop prayed with the men and women and asked God to “watch over them and keep them safe. Bless them as they do their work for us.” He then visited students in their classrooms, engaging them in their classwork.
Members of the student council were decked out in red, white and blue for the day’s theme: “Celebrate the Nation.”
“We need to show our love and respect for them,” Abigail Scola said of the emergency workers.
Maximus McNeill agreed, saying, “We’re doing something for the first responders because they do so much for us,” explaining how they help with routine check-ins at the school, and are part of the fifth grade LEAD (Law Enforcement Against Drugs) program.
Sgt. Arthur Burns of the Runnemede Police Department, a LEAD officer, mingled with students in front of a table full of coffee, muffins and donuts.
A lifelong Catholic who received his sacraments at Saint Teresa Church (now part of Holy Child Parish), Sgt. Burns has a son in the school’s first grade and sees the value of Catholic education, and the morals, discipline and responsibility that it brings.
“It’s going to help my son out forever, what he’s learning at Saint Teresa School,” he said.
David Harkins, chief of the Gloucester County Police Department and deacon in Holy Child Parish, called the breakfast an honor. “We normally serve them, but today, they’re serving us.”