SCHERERVILLE – It’s no wonder St. Michael School has thrived for 125 years. After all, just two years after it opened, public schools closed for three years because all the small village’s children were enrolled in the parochial school.
“St. Michael opened in 1900 with 54 students in grades 5-8, and by 1902, there were more students and they all went to the Catholic school,” said Nancy Finlay, a member of the Schererville Historical Society and St. Michael parishioner. “The public schools reopened three years later because St. Michael could no longer handle all the children in the growing community, which wasn’t incorporated as a town until 1911.”
St. Michael the Archangel parish is celebrating its school’s 125th year with a St. Michael School Anniversary Celebration, including a dinner, auction and special history presentation by Janice Malinowski, retired clerk-treasurer of the town, at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, at Innsbrook Country Club in Merrillville. Tickets are available at the school website, stmichaelparish.life/school, the parish office and after weekend Masses on Sept. 13-14.
The dinner is just one in a series of anniversary events, according to Peg Harangody, chairwoman of the St. Michael School 125th Anniversary Celebration Committee. After an anniversary announcement weekend in May, the committee entered a float in the Town of Schererville’s parade in June, and hosted a St. Michael Festival Alumni Night on Aug. 2.
“Spaghetti dinners have been a tradition, so on Sept. 26 we will also hold an All-School Spaghetti Luncheon at the school with special T-shirts for all faculty and students,” said Harangody. “The annual Passport to Our Heritage event on April 18, 2026, will also celebrate the anniversary, and we will host a 125th Anniversary Homecoming Celebratory Mass at 11:30 a.m. on May 3, 2026, followed by an All-Class Reunion on the school campus from 1-4 p.m., with food, fellowship and activities.”
Harangody, who taught physical education at St. Michael for seven years before serving as principal from 2008-15, said she got involved in the anniversary celebration simply “because I love this place.
“I feel uniquely blessed to have been part of St. Michael School for over 30 years,” she said. “As a parent whose two sons, Ty and Luke, attended the school, and as a teacher and principal … It is part of my family, my community. It’s a very important place that helped shape my family and myself. I am so proud of our school and of what we accomplished within these walls.”
Serving as co-chair of the anniversary committee is Colleen Kennedy, who succeeded Harangody as St. Michael principal for 11 years. “I just loved the spirit and how we all worked together,” recalled Kennedy, who now teaches junior high religion and social studies at St. Mary School in Griffith. “I have so many fond memories of St. Michael; we really raised the roof in terms of faith, spirit and academics. It was just a good time.”
“Family” and “community” were the two words that came up repeatedly when St. Michael School alumni and leaders spoke of their experiences.
“I wouldn’t trade our time, experience or memories of being a St. Mike’s family for all the tea in China,” said Patrick Reardon, whose five children all graduated from the school.
“I’m so happy and proud to help with the anniversary. My family has been part of St. Michael School and Church for generations,” said Nancy Hoehn, a SMS graduate whose mother, siblings and two children are also alumni.
Karyn Gallas, whose two sons are SMS alumni, said she was “always glad to donate to the school on behalf of Schererville Glass because St. Michael School made my family great.”
“It’s one thing to be a parent, but as a teacher (for 14 years) too, you learn so much more about what this school has to offer,” said kindergarten teacher Pattie Barone. “There’s a sense of community, a sense of family and being able to work together for the betterment of each student we teach.”
First-grade teacher Catherine Rusin stressed that after 19 years at SMS, “Christ is still the center of all that I teach. We have a respect for each other and an acceptance of everyone.”
While technology has brought Smartboards and Chromebooks (laptop computers), said Rusin, “we still maintain our Christian, Catholic tradition. Financially, the state’s CHOICE scholarships have enabled more families to choose St. Michael.”
Current principal Michelle Biscan, in her fourth year at the helm of SMS, likes “the family atmosphere” at her school. “People build a relationship and get to know each other. We are a community of givers,” she added. “Parents, teachers and students are always stepping up, doing things for each other. (Families) truly want their kids to attend this school.”
She presides over a campus with 21 teachers and 248 students, up from 230 last year, and boasts two pre-kindergarten classes and grades K-8, with two classrooms at five grade levels as well as Spanish, art, music and computer classes.
The school has 20 classrooms on two floors, a gym/cafeteria, a library/music room, a computer lab and an office suite. Air conditioning was added to the classrooms this fall.
“We continue to offer a space for good, Catholic education and create great citizens for the future,” said Biscan. “We have the opportunity to mold good citizens, with all-school Masses and Rosary recitations, religion classes five days a week and service hours for grades 5-8.
“We have an enrollment that is 85% Catholic, and had five students baptized as Catholics last year,” the principal added.
Finlay said the history of St. Michael School is integral to the growth and success of the Town of Schererville. “Everything in this town has benefited from St. Michael School,” she said. “Over the early years, community meetings were held at the school and potluck picnics were held there. The students used to walk through town at Thanksgiving singing to their teachers, nuns and priests, and they donated their pennies to buy a stained glass window for the new church.
“We have a list of St. Michael graduates at the historical society, and it includes about 2,500 people,” she added. “The history of St. Michael School is the history of this town.”
Caption: First graders in Catherine Rusin’s class open the school day with prayer at St. Michael School in Schererville, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. A gala dinner, expected to reunite firmer students, parents and teachers, is planned for Friday, Sept. 26, at Innsbrook Country Club in Merrillville. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)
