Klein Family

"Eight years ago, we found our neighborhood Catholic school was closing. Our family was devastated. I immediately began visiting several schools for my girls. SVMS was the easy choice. We needed a school that would fill the void left in our lives. My husband and I are not from New Jersey, so our school and parish were the center of not only our academic and spiritual lives, but our social lives as well. Not only did we see a strong curriculum and a truly Catholic identity, but the children and parents seemed truly happy to be there. The faculty and staff prioritized joy during the school day. This was so important to us.

One of our daughters has ADHD. To say that she has been cared for and supported at SVMS is an understatement. The teachers have been invested in her success and growth. She was never just a name on a class list; she was treated as a person with different strengths and valued for who she is. Our other daughter has been able to be herself as well. She is outgoing and is seen as her own person. The two of them have very different personalities and strengths and weaknesses. Yet both feel that their school day is tailored to them and that they are cherished and given special attention. What more could we ask for? Even the trials of pandemic education didn't change this feeling. Our teachers are rock stars!

As parents, we became involved in the school community as much as possible. We met friends who will be in our lives long after 8th-grade graduations are but a distant memory. As one of our daughters graduated this last year, it has been bittersweet for us as well. Not even three years left to be an official part of the school community. Although, once an SVMS Eagle, always an Eagle.

The greatest takeaway from our years at SVMS will be the education and edification of the 'whole child'." The academics were challenging, but there was so much more. Our girls have taken sewing classes, Irish dance lessons, and volleyball clinics, and have been involved in Girl Scouts, and in our school plays. More importantly, in such a crazy world, our daughters were taught to rely on their faith for strength. In a time when we, as a society, put so much pressure on students to meet high expectations, SVMS also stresses the need to laugh, have fun and celebrate.

While SVMS has dedicated itself to my children, it has taught them to dedicate themselves to others. There has been such an emphasis on compassion, kindness, and service. My daughters can concretely explain ways they themselves, through school projects, have been the eyes, ears, hands, and feet of Jesus for others. We have been blessed to be a family among the faces of SVMS."

- The Klein Family
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