Testimonials

Testimonial

MY EXPERIENCES AT ST. THOMAS SCHOOL

I was recently asked to write something about my own personal experience of what my life was like attending St. Thomas school in International Falls.  It's hard to put down on paper, the multitude of wonderful experiences that I had at St. Thomas, but in a short testimonial, I will try to summarize just a bit of what school was like for me. I grew up on Second street in International Falls with my parents Jerry and Vivian, and my brother Patrick. Being on 2nd street, I lived only about a block from the school, which allowed my brother Pat and I to walk to school when we were old enough to do so. My experience at St. Thomas began in pre-school with Mrs. Davidson. I continued on throughout my school years at St. Thomas and went all the way through 8^th grade. I had Mrs. Perala for Kindergarten, Mrs. Johnson for 1^st grade, Mrs. Bjorum in 2^nd grade, Mrs. Trompeter in 3^rd grade, Mrs. Ecklund in 4^th grade, Mrs. Johnson for 5^th grade, Mrs. Jackson for 6^th grade, Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Kuryla for 7^th and 8^th grade. There were other special people that I remember over the years who taught different subjects in addition to our regular teachers. These people included Mrs. Cullen, Mrs. McCarthy, Mrs. Williams,  Mrs. Katrin,  and many others that I hope that I haven't forgotten to mention. 

Back in the day, (the 80's), when I attended St. Thomas, there were up to 30 students in each of the classes that were in the school. The school seemed absolutely HUGE to me back then. It's funny to me now,  because when I walk through the school now it seems so small. It might seem small to me now, but my memories of the school are still at the forefront of my mind.  I was very fond of the closeness that we as students shared with all of the students, and with the teachers and staff that we had over the years. I remember that I was very fond of recess, phy ed classes, playing boot hockey, and king of the hill before school started! I suppose that some of the actual academic classes that I took were fine too, but I don't remember those as much as recess. In all seriousness though, when I graduated from the 8^th grade at St. Thomas, I didn't realize how well prepared we as students were academically until after my 1^st quarter at the Falls High School. I didn't know what to expect at the High school, but I managed to get straight A's on my first report card in 9^th grade at FHS, and that type of hard work and effort continued through most of my High school experience. I was not the only St. Thomas kid to succeed, as I could tell you many names of my fellow classmates who earned straight A's and had done very well academically at the High School. 

At St. Thomas we were lucky to learn right from wrong, what hard work was, and we also had the opportunity to learn about our faith, and about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I look back over the years and still get a feeling of belonging to something greater every time that I walk into St. Thomas Aquinas church. We attended mass every Friday during our school week, with the students at the school taking part in the masses. I didn't know it at the time, but we learned much more than we ever could have imagined during those years at St. Thomas school. 

​Scott Wherley
​International Falls Chief of Police