NOTRE DAME 'GARDENER' TO SAY GOODBYE

It's time for Sister Mary Ann Fischer to go.

Fischer, who has served 11 years as principal at Notre Dame Regional High School, said the time is right for her to leave the high school she helped bring into its prime.

The time is right to bring in a new visionary to work towards a new set of goals, Fischer said. Students are excelling, enrollment is peaking and the school is fulfilling its mission to combine faith with living and learning.

"I feel there's a season and a time for everything," she said. "As we move into the next millenium, let's get someone new in here to take it and run with it.

"We need a new visionary in the principal's office."

Fischer said she isn't retiring, because "sisters don't retire." Instead, she is leaving the high school to pursue another career which allows her to use her master's degree in religious education.

But first, she's going to participate in a summer program with the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Japan, where she will work with the international order and perform some Third World outreach activities.

Fischer said she has fulfilled most of the goals she set when she came to Notre Dame in 1988. One of her first actions was to create a recruitment and marketing committee to spur enrollment growth. She assisted the committee by making personal recruitment visits to some 10 elementary schools in the region. Enrollment has grown from 279 students in 1989 to a projected 400 students for the 1999-2000 school year.

Enrollment remains on a steady climb at the school, mirroring a six-year national trend in Catholic schools. The school's athletic program also has been expanded and now includes girls' soccer, golf and cross-country.

In addition, the school participates in a full range of Missouri State High School Activities Association programs, including athletics, performing arts, scholar bowl and music.

Fischer remembers when the school had only 15 Apple IIe computers. The recently-completed technology system, which was conceived, financed and constructed during Fischer's tenure, boasts a schoolwide computer and television network. Administrative and guidance offices and the library are fully automated, and the school has a Web page and Internet access for students.

"When I look at what's happened, besides the enrollment, the technology and the new school, I'm real proud of the things we've been doing," said Fischer. "I think it really speaks to the mission of this new school."

Catholic education hasn't changed much in Fischer's 11 years at Notre Dame. Catholic schools are still known for providing a religious, disciplined, value-centered environment, she said. Teachers in the Catholic system are dedicated to their students despite receiving lower salaries than their public school peers, she added.

In all, parents are appreciative that their students are encouraged to excel academically, athletically and socially, she said.

"Parents want their kids to grow in their faith as they grow in knowledge," Fischer said. "Our Catholic schools are known for that."

Notre Dame now educates children from some 17 public and private elementary schools in the region. The multidenominational factor has improved over the years, which Fischer credits to the quality academic program staff have developed during her tenure.

She doesn't fear competition from other parochial high schools, like nearby Eagle Ridge Christian Academy or a proposed Lutheran regional high school.

"People emphasize the differences more than we need to between Catholics and people who are not Catholics," said Fischer. "It's the same God, the same scriptures. Our curriculum is scripturally based. The only thing that's different is we worship differently."

Fischer said she will miss the students and faculty at the school, as well as friends she has made while working in civic organizations in Cape Girardeau. But, she said, it's time for a new administrator to pick up where she has left off.

"We have a beautiful building, a dedicated staff and good kids," she said. "I think the seeds are planted, and we just need a gardener to make them grow."