Southington School Embraces Name of the Unified Parish

Story by Karen A. Avitabile

On the first day of school last week, Principal Jim Messina greeted all the students by their first name and welcomed them into the Southington school – embraced with a new name, logo, uniforms and instructional curriculum. 

Southington Catholic School, the former name of the school, has reopened as St. Luke Catholic School to coincide with the new parish name of St. Luke. The school offers pre-kindergarten through grade eight classes.

“Following discussions about the future of our beloved school with St. Luke Catholic Parish, archdiocesan school leaders and our school board, we are very excited to become St. Luke Catholic School, bringing us closer to our faith community and a renewed sense of identity,” says Messina, in his third year as principal.

“So many students have nourished and shaped their minds, bodies and souls within the walls of Southington Catholic School,” he adds. “The idea of St. Luke Catholic School and St. Luke Parish coming together as one made sense.”

St. Luke Parish was formed in October 2022 from a unification of the Southington and Plantsville Catholic parishes of St. Thomas, Immaculate Conception, Mary Our Queen, St. Dominic and St. Aloysius. 

St. Luke Pastor Father Joseph Cronin says the former Southington Catholic School and the parishes in Southington and Plantsville have “enriched our communities, our people and our faith for generations.”

“Now our school will reflect the name of our unified faith community,” he adds. “As we move forward, we give thanks to God for the countless blessings that have emanated from Southington Catholic School.”

The school has opened its doors as a STREAM Academy, the fourth one in the Archdiocese of Hartford. “The hallmark of STREAM is to give the student a problem to solve and the parameters of what they can use or not use to solve it,” Messina says. 

Teachers participated in STREAM learning sessions following the conclusion of the school year in June. “Our teachers are excited to engage students in STREAM lessons that help students make connections between Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics,” Messina says. 

“To borrow from St. Luke in his Gospel, we have always known there is something greater here, and we couldn’t be happier to energize our school’s vibrant traditions with the new name and a fortified curriculum as a STREAM Academy.”

Members of St. Luke Parish have been donating aluminum foil, paper straws, multi-color pipe cleaners, post-it notes and paper lunch bags to be used in STREAM.

To coincide with the school’s new name, students started school wearing new navy uniforms, replacing the former colors of gray and maroon. 

A new logo, also navy, has been embraced too. After several samples and variations, the shield has been removed from the old logo and the words “creative minds,” “compassionate hearts” and courageous acts” — part of the St. Luke School mission statement — have been added. 

St. Thomas Junior High School, which opened in the 1960s, was the original name of the current St. Luke Catholic School. The former Southington Catholic School, which combined St. Thomas and St. Dominic schools, was established on July 1, 2015, resulted in a single campus, located at 133 Bristol St. For more information about St. Luke School, visit school.stlukect.org.