The Villa Augustina School was a private

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

located in

Goffstown, New Hampshire Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 18,577 at the 2020 census. The compact center of town, where 3,366 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffst ...

, United States. It served the town of Goffstown and the surrounding communities. In September 2009 the school had a total enrollment of 176 students. Villa Augustina School closed as of June 30, 2014.

History

The Villa Augustina school was founded in 1918 by the

Religious of Jesus and Mary The Religious of Jesus and Mary (french: Religieuses de Jésus-Marie), abbreviated as R.J.M., form a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to the education and service of the poor. It was founded at Lyon, France, in October 1818 ...

as an all-girls

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

high school. The school was a gift from Msgr. Augustin Chevalier, a pastor at Saint Augustin church in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644. Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Hamp ...

, and after whom the school was named. During the 1960s the school saw many changes. Rosary Hall, the building adjacent to the main building, was constructed in 1962. In this building is the cafeteria, gym, stage and classroom space. In 1968, the decision was made to close the high school portion of the school and expand the elementary and junior high. During this period of changes, boys were admitted to the school for the second time. (The first time was in the mid 1950s for only one year.) In addition, the school changed from a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

to a

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compar ...

, and the

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

was established. Pre-kindergarten was established in 1985, as well as morning and after care. A summer camp, Camp Thevenet, was established in the late 1980s as well. In 1989, the school board was established to allow the parents and community an opportunity to oversee operations and future development of the school. In 2008 the

announced that they could no longer support the school financially and would need to close it down. After six months of planning, the parents formed a cooperation, St. Claudine Villa Academy, and bought the school. On June 16, 2014, the ''

New Hampshire Union Leader The ''New Hampshire Union Leader'' is a daily newspaper from Manchester, the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. On Sundays, it publishes as the ''New Hampshire Sunday News.'' Founded in 1863, the paper was best known for the conse ...

'' reported that the Villa Augustina school would close effective June 30, 2014, due to the inability to attract enough students to cover the expenses associated with running the school.

Administration

The school's most recent principal was Beverly Broomhall.

Notable alumni

* Linda S. Dalianis, Class of 1966, Chief Justice of the

New Hampshire Supreme Court The New Hampshire Supreme Court is the supreme court of the U. S. state of New Hampshire and sole appellate court of the state. The Supreme Court is seated in the state capital, Concord. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate ...

(2010–2018)

External links

Villa Augustina School website
as archived January 25, 2014
Fritz Wetherbee 2017 segment from New Hampshire Chronicle

References

{{reflist Educational institutions established in 1918 Private middle schools in New Hampshire Private elementary schools in New Hampshire Schools in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Goffstown, New Hampshire 1918 establishments in New Hampshire