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On May 21,
1963, the Most Reverend Joseph McShea, founding bishop of the Diocese of
Allentown, formally established the Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help as
the first new parish the the new Diocese of Allentown. At the time of its
establishment the parish consisted of 450 families. Father Harry Hynes was
chosen by the bishop as the first pastor. At present there are approximately
2000 families in the parish.
In July
of 1963, Father Hynes presented his ideas for a U-shaped, one story colonial
style building consisting of a church, school, and hall. A separate building
was planned for the Sisters' Convent. Permission to build was granted on
August 1, 1963.
The school
opened in September of 1964 with the first four grades having an enrollment
of 135 students. School was temporarily held in four of the classrooms of
Notre Dame High School. We were able to move into our new school on March 1,
1965. The Sisters of St. Joseph came to staff the parish school. When
the St. Joseph sisters left the parish in 1985, Father Conte, the second
pastor, enlisted the services of the Dominican Daughters of the Immaculate
Mother to take their place. The Dominican Sisters left the parish in August
of 1988.
The school is
presently staffed by lay teachers who continue the fine tradition of
Catholic education in our parish. Our faculty consists of 1
administrator, 12 full-time teachers, 4 part-time teachers, 5 teacher aides, 1 librarian, 1 full-time and 1 part-time
secretary, and 2 hot lunch coordinators. Our teachers are fully certified
professional educators who have specific qualifications for the
instructional duties they are performing with our students. Enrollment is
now approximately 300 students in grades K-8.
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