Past and present students at Allen Park school honor Patricia Smolinski, who taught generations to read, write and love God
ALLEN PARK — Patricia Smolinski taught generations of Cabrini Monarchs how to read, count, spell and know they are loved by God.
On Tuesday morning during Catholic Schools Week, the Allen Park parish community gathered together to let Smolinski know she was loved by them.
Smolinski was honored for her 42 years teaching kindergarten and first grade at Cabrini Academy after the all-school Mass on Jan. 28, in which students past and present were on hand to show their appreciation to the teacher who retired in 2020.
“It’s a very incredible day for me,” Smolinski told Detroit Catholic. “I’ve had so many good memories. But as I was telling people, ‘Yes, I taught them, but they taught me.’ I learned a lot from my own students. When I see them, it’s always good to see them doing well.”
After Mass, a video compilation of Cabrini students and alumni wishing Smolinski well and thanking her for her years of service to Cabrini was played.
Smolinski was honored by presenting the Patricia Smolinski Appreciation Scholarship to eighth-grader Sophia Hills. Kevin and Karen Rourke sponsored the scholarship to honor the teacher who taught their three children.
Ahead of the Mass, the school sent word out to gather as many alumni and families whom Smolinski taught as possible. The Rourkes wanted to give Smolinski a proper sendoff because they felt she didn’t get one at the end of the 2019-20 academic year because of COVID-19 restrictions.
“As you can see, a lot of alumni are here in church to meet her, people who were taught by her and whose children were taught by her,” said Kevin Rourke, a 1975 Cabrini graduate who went to school with Smolinski. “It’s a large family of students, brothers and sisters, parents, aunts and uncles she’s taught over the last 42 years. Having this gathering in church represents what she means to the Catholic community at St. Frances Cabrini.”
The Rourke family wanted to do something special for Smolinski, who taught the couple’s three children, Meagan, Scott and Bryan.
“Just the care she had, the nurturing she had, the ways she taught the children,” Rourke said. "One of the videos submitted was from a girl talking about how she had issues with reading and how Ms. Smolinski took the extra time to help her read. She had special ways of teaching. She’d have the ‘Alphabet people,’ characters she’d come up with to match the alphabet to help kids remember. She was one of the first teachers to come up with packets to give to parents to let them know how their kids were progressing; you’re talking about 42 years ago; she was a trendsetter.”
Smolinski grew up at St. Frances Cabrini Parish, graduating in 1973, when Cabrini schools were primarily staffed by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
She went on to Michigan States University, and after obtaining her teaching certificate, she went back to Cabrini, inspired by the women religious who taught for so long at the school, only for her, in turn, to become an institution at Cabrini.
“Back in the day when I was here, we had nuns who were here for a long time,” Kevin Rourke said. “Having Ms. Smolinski here for generations of students and families, her way of teaching, her love for the school."
Rourke said Smolinski's presence at the school inspired other teachers who also taught for decades at Cabrini. "Her longevity and her spirit kept other teachers here. That consistency,” Rourke said.
For all the years Smolinski gave to Cabrini, she insists she received much more from the community.
“For some reason, God called me to be here,” Smolinski said. “I learned so much from the students; every day was something. The (kindergarten and first-grade students) had so much spontaneity to them. Every day, they kept you on your toes.”
As students made their way out of church and back to class, alumni congregated around Smolinski to share memories, updates on where prior students are now and reminisce about growing up blocks from St. Frances Cabrini Parish.
“I love hearing about the progress my students are making, the choices in life they are making,” Smolinski said. “That’s one thing I’ve always talked about with my students since they were in kindergarten: make good choices, and you’ll have a good life.
“Cabrini is my life. This is where I grew up, and this is where I am right now. Probably will never leave,” Smolinski added, looking back at the generations of students who she taught, the generations of lives she’s changed.
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