NEW PRINCIPAL AT NOTRE DAME

~Correction: Principal's name is BROTHER DAVID ANTHONY MIGLIORINO.

Brother David Anthony knows that being a high school principal is easier than teaching a foreign language. At least that has been his experience.

As the new principal at Notre Dame Regional High School, Brother David is more prepared for that role than he was for teaching Spanish many years ago.

At an East Coast school where he taught early in his career, Brother David was asked by the school principal to teach Spanish to freshmen. When he replied that his background in history and English literature didn't prepare him for it, the principal wouldn't accept excuses. He said that since neither the students nor Brother David had mastered the language, then the two could attempt the task together.

Plenty has changed since his early days as a teacher and friar. But is love students hasn't.

When Brother David was first accepted into the religious order of the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, few of his family and friends thought he would last. His love of jokes and his outrageous personality surely didn't fit the image of a friar who wears a flowing, hooded, black robe.

His new students were already calling him "that brother guy" during a visit before the end of the school year.

But those attributes are just what make him interesting. Brother David doesn't mind answering their questions about his robes or his order. It gets the students talking. It also creates a religious presence on the campus.

"I have very little talent," he said. "But what real talent I do have is my personality. I like to know the students."

His office was decorated by two former students at St. John the Baptist School in St. Louis, which was his last post. It is filled with photographs of former students and teachers, posters and plenty of figurines of monks. There is even candy inside one of the ceramic monks on his shelf.

Brother David plans to keep a very visible presence in the school, whether it means visiting classrooms or hanging out in the hallways.

"When I was in school you saw the principal at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year when he shook your hand at graduation. He didn't know your name," he said.

Schools should have a familial atmosphere, he said. Part of the reason for such violent acts on school campuses recently is the breakdown of families, he said. "Schools are replacing the part of families, and they should become places where students are nurtured," he said.

If there was ever a need for parochial schools, it is now, Brother David said.

With the increasing enrollment, many parents are in agreement. About 30 students were added to the class rosters at Notre Dame for the 1999-2000 school year. More than 400 students are enrolled for the year.

The enrollment jump shows that students are moving into the area or transferring from other schools, said Vice Principal Brad Wittenborn.

Wittenborn is also a physics teacher, soccer coach and technology coordinator at the school. He has been teaching at Notre Dame since 1978.

With such dedication and leadership, Brother David acknowledged that if it is a good school year, Wittenborn is likely responsible.

"I'm confident because of him and because of his abilities," he said. "When they write the history of Notre Dame, he'll get chapters."

Brother David doesn't plan to change how Notre Dame operates. The faculty at Notre Dame already know how to take the ball and run so that they score points, he said.

"We're just going to build on the excellence," he said. "Sister Mary Ann had the place running, so nothing is broken and we won't fix it."

Sister Mary Ann Fischer retired as principal of Notre Dame this year. She had been the principal since 1988.

The school motto, "Give us your child and we will return to you an apostle," explains what the emphasis is about. It is painted in blue lettering along the entry hall.

Education is important, he said. But sometimes schools also need to be concerned about the student as a whole person. "Sometimes you don't worry so much about the math score as you need to worry about the child sometimes.

"This is a ministry," he said. "You build on the gospel. You hope and trust that you are all on the same focus and are living the mission."