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Little Flower School Story |
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In September 1946,
Little Flower School opened its doors as the first Catholic School to serve
rural districts of northwestern Florida. Under the care and direction of the
pastor Father James Smith, an old barn was converted into functional classrooms.
With an initial enrollment of 95 children (37 of whom were non-catholic), the
Sisters of St. Dominic assumed the duties of principal and teachers. For the
next four years, this structure, though simple, adequately met the basic
educational needs of its students and teachers.
In 1950, with an increased enrollment of 161 students, the newly-assigned
pastor, Father Hinton Lipscomb purchased surplus World War II government
barracks and renovated the buildings to house the school and rectory. Lay
teachers were added to the instructional staff to assist with the enormous
teaching duties. By December 1966, a new wing featuring Spanish architecture was
designed and built to house two new classrooms, the auditorium/lunchroom, a
well-stocked library, and a school office, all centered around a fountain
courtyard. This structure still stands today as the “courtyard wing” for our
middle school grades. In 1974, the primary building was dedicated as classroom
space for the primary grades kindergarten through third. A growing enrollment of
192 students prompted another expansion in 1981-82 completing the courtyard wing
and supplying additional classrooms for the middle school grades.
In 1993, a significant goal was realized when the new Media center was
completed. Dedicated in honor of the previous pastor of Little Flower, the Msgr.
Raymond Mullins Media Center houses the library and the computer center with 16
new state-of-the-art computers to augment the modern facilities.
Present...
The
Spirit of Little Flower School
Little Flower School’s mission is to
provide each student with a quality Catholic education. In the school’s
friendly, family atmosphere children grow spiritually, academically, physically,
and socially. The varying age-related developmental needs of children are
recognized and met through the curriculum and extra-curricular activities
offered at Little Flower.
Little Flower is accredited by the Florida Catholic Conference. Our Kindergarten has a full time aide to help with instructional needs of he classroom. Our guidance counselor provides resources for our teachers, students and parents.
We believe the heart of Catholic Education is to develop in students the understanding of God’s role in their lives and the value and dignity of all human life.
We believe the school and its programs will teach responsible citizenship and a quality work ethic.
We believe the students will actively participate in the learning process and will apply their learning in meaningful ways.
We believe the learning process will challenge students to demonstrate problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
General Information (Click to view general information.)
Future...
Sr. Barbara's Message
There is much
to be thankful for as we count our blessings and look to improving upon
that which has begun over 60 years ago.
Fr. Smith envisioned
a school that would meet the needs of the people in the Myrtle Grove
area. With the parishioners of Little Flower, they set out to create a
school that would be the hallmark of Catholic identity as well as a
quality education for the young.
Today we
strive to take the legacy left by Fr. Smith and the first Dominican Sisters and
to once again plan for another hundred years of success. We are in the process
of painting the fence across the street, updating our technology for our
teachers and students, and preparing to welcome a new science lab as part of our
Parish building campaign.
This is
an exciting time to be here at Little Flower. We are moving forward. I invite
you all to join in where you can and help us to create a place where Catholic
values and strong academics are the cornerstones of any graduate from Little
Flower School.
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