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Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School kicked off its golden anniversary Sept. 10 with Mass, gold and blue balloons and cupcakes.

“I’m really excited about it,” sophomore Zoe Rae Rote, 15, said about the anniversary. The sophomore serves on the yearbook committee this year, and the group has been planning for a special 50th anniversary edition since the summer.

“It’s an opportunity to do something big,” she said. This particular day, besides savoring her chocolate cupcake, Zoe is hunting down alumni at the event to interview for the yearbook. She plans to have one interview with an alumni and another interview with a graduating senior to contrast the school’s past and present.

Zoe said the yearbook will be black and white with splashes of neon color.

She’s also in charge of designing a photo essay of the day’s event. Another classmate was helping with the photos.

Bill Lawler of Clemmons is happy with the education and opportunities it’s afforded his kids. Two of his five children have attended and graduated from Bishop McGuinness. His youngest will graduate this year.
“I’ve been so happy with the excellence it provides and the opportunity it provides for children,” he said.

“It was a pleasant experience,” 1964 graduate Felipe Villalon said of Winston-Salem of his years at Bishop McGuinness.

Villalon attended the school during his last three years of high school. His family had just moved from Cuba and he could speak very little English.

“People accepted us very well,” he said. That includes the family that gave him and his sister a ride so they could attend the school.
During that time, Villalon said the school only had 135 students. Now it’s grown to more than four times that, he said.

Other changes include more lay teachers leading classes, as opposed to sisters of St. Joseph.

The dress code was much stricter then, too. “We had to wear coat and tie.”

The opportunities and the curriculum have also grown. Instead of two foreign languages — Latin or French — students now have Spanish as an option.

“The key at the school has always been to prepare the kids very well,” Villalon said. “I noticed that when I went there and when my kids got there.”

Villalon has two children — John and Teresa. John is in law school at UNC-Chapel Hill and Teresa is a fourth-grade teacher with Davidson County Schools.

Villalon has remained active with the school, serving on the board of education when his kids were there, serving as the chairman of the alumni association for many years and now serving on the state board in Charlotte.

“It’s very hard to get away, I think,” he said, laughing. “I’m paying them back for all they’ve done for me."

"This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate life and our life together in a unique place,” Principal George Repass said of the yearlong celebration. “There’s no place like it in North Carolina.”

He’s been principal for 20 years, nearly half of the school’s history.

Repass bragged on his students and the hospitality of the community. “We’re known for our hospitable atmosphere — real authentic hospitality.” And he added, “I think we have the best kids left in this nation.”

The school began as an all-girl school, Villa Maria Anna Academy, in Winston-Salem in 1954.

In 1959 the school became a Diocesan school and a new school was built at 1730 Link Road, Winston-Salem. The new building was dedicated in memory of the Most Rev. Eugene J. McGuinness, who was consecrated Bishop of Raleigh in 1937. The school was named Bishop McGuinness Memorial High School and opened its doors to students on Sept. 8, 1959.

With the growing population of students, a new building was built in August 2001 at the current location, 1725 N.C. 66 South, Kernersville. The name of the school was changed to Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School.

Contact E.A. Seagraves at 883-4422, Ext. 241.