Organizers of the annual dinner and auction supporting Holy Rosary Catholic School in Warrenton say their event on Jan. 28 was likely one of the best ever in terms of fundraising for the school.

The Saturday evening auction was attended by around 200 guests from the community, and organizers estimate that it was one of the highest-earning fundraisers that the school has had.

Organizers have not yet released a final amount of revenue generated by this year’s event. The annual fundraiser includes dinner, raffles, silent auction and live auction, which are all well supported by buyers, but also by generous donations of items from supporters, said school Principal Lori Racine.

“It was a fun evening. It was nice to see so many parents in attendance, as well as community supporters and parishioners,” Racine commented.

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View more photos from the Holy Rosary auction at this link.

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She said this year’s event was planned by a committee of nine volunteers who worked excellently together to make the event happen.

“It was really neat to see that many parents have total involvement to really make it run without a hitch,” she noted.

Part of the fundraising this year will go toward ongoing projects to improve the school’s outdoor areas, Racine added. That includes outdoor class areas, gardens, play areas, and a sensory path — a trail of activities that highlight different senses in fun ways, Racine explained. It could also be used for updated directional signage on the building.

In a time when the future of many other Catholic parishes and schools in the St. Louis region is in question, Racine said Holy Rosary School is thriving thanks to the support of an active community that welcomes new members and values what the school offers.

“People want to be part of a school family. They want to have their children, daily, experience a Christian life where there’s prayer and teaching of virtue,” Racine elaborated. “And we have good academic rigor as well, and we’re able to help students at the individual level.”

Holy Rosary’s enrollment this year is 186 students, which is a number that has grown every year for nearly a decade, but is still a small and close-knit school, Racine added.

Holy Rosary Pastor Tom Vordtriede, while thanking community members for their support at the Jan. 28 auction, commented that not only is the school thriving, it’s bringing in more families to join the Holy Rosary Church as new Catholics.

“This school is doing its job of bringing families ever closer to Jesus Christ,” Vordtriede noted. He said the school’s teachers and administration are the heart of Holy Rosary’s success in providing a quality education while also helping children to grow spiritually.

Going forward, Vordtriede said that Catholic schools in the St. Louis region have been directed to improve compensation for their teachers, who Vordtriede said are often paid less than their public school counterparts. Increased pay will require increased revenue, but Vordtriede said that the school’s annual auction allows it to minimize tuition increases.

“It’s because of the generosity that you have shown year after year that we’re going to be able to take steps to allow our teachers to be more compensated and more appreciated,” Vordtriede told the guests at the auction.