OLGC Presents Award to Dedicated Supporter of Catholic Education

The following release was submitted by Our Lady of Good Counsel School:

Roxanne Adinolfi received (OLGC) School’s Sister Michael Vincent Award on Feb. 1 during a special Mass.

This is the 12th year for the award, given to a strong supporter of Catholic education and named for a very dedicated school principal who served from 1985 to 2000 and has since passed away.

Adinolfi, a Moorestown resident and president of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, is an active member of OLGC parish, along with her husband, Robert. Their daughter, Christina, is a graduate of OLGC school and was enrolled in the first kindergarten class in 1988. The following year, Adinolfi taught fourth grade at the school, then became the reading and language arts specialist for 10 years. 

“This award means a great deal to me as I worked very closely with Sister Michael for 10 years at Our Lady of Good Counsel School,” Adinolfi said as she accepted the award from Principal Jerome T. McGowan. 

“I am honored to accept this award in her name. Sister Michael must have noticed something in me that would help her achieve her dreams for the school," Adinolfi added. "It is wonderful to know someone in your life (aside of your parents) who sees something special in you and provides an opportunity for you to grow and learn in your work every day. Sister Michael was special to me in that way. Sister had vision for the school to improve study skills, reading and writing instruction, promoting a literature program for all students and teachers, and she found a way to make it happen.”

Adinolfi is currently a parish cantor, member of the adult choir, and has served on several parish committees, including the search for a new principal in 1999. She served as vice chair of the OLGC school board and chair of the Strategic Action Plan committee. 

She has been an outstanding, dedicated, untiring worker for literacy in many capacities. In addition to being a teacher and language arts specialist, she was also an officer and member of the Board of Directors of West Jersey Reading Council, an active member of the New Jersey Reading Association (NJRA) board of directors and an educational leader in children’s literacy programs, staff development and parent programs.  She has promoted reading and contributed to the development of excellence in reading throughout the state.  

Adinolfi is also a frequent presenter/keynote speaker for professional conferences, such as Reading Recovery, NJRA/NJEA, NJ Association of Federal Programs, NJASCD, WJRC, Trenton/Camden Diocese, PTA/PTO, and numerous school districts and parochial schools in the tri-state area. 

She continues to serve the Trenton Diocese in think tanks and on committees to ensure the sustainability of Catholic schools. Among the awards she cherishes most are Outstanding Catholic Educator 1999, recognition by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, Mary G. Filosa Reading Teacher of the Year Award 2000, by the NJRA, co-author/recipient of the Governor’s School of Excellence Award in 2003, and recipient of the Governor’s Best Practice Award for Professional Development, Cherry Hill Public Schools 2004.

Adinolfi’s commitment to her parish was noted by longtime friend, Dr. Linda M. Dix, director of religious education at OLGC, during an introductory speech at the mass last week. 

“She has spent 24 years of active parish involvement sharing her time, talent, and treasure and living her vocation as a teacher,” Dr. Dix said. “She has never considered teaching as a job, but a way of serving God, of living our faith. She answers daily God’s call to help others.”

- Submitted by Jen Anderson and Michelle Molz