Mary Queen Of Heaven’s Sister Mary Donna Murphy
Courier Principal Profile
By Dara Mormile

“When you’re happy with the job you have and you don’t mind doing it, it’s a great feeling,” said Sister Mary Donna Murphy, principal of Mary Queen Of Heaven Catholic School in Mill Basin.

The Queens resident has headed the school since 1993 and is proud of her 295 students. “I personally know over 90 percent of the children and their parents,” she said.

Under her administration, the school has had many technological advancements in the classrooms and student involvement has increased.

“Since I’ve been here, there’s more encouragement for students to enter contests and we motivate them to be more active,” she said. “We also try to see what each child is good at and then get them involved in something they have an interest in. As for my future with Mary Queen Of Heaven, I would like to help the school find more counseling services and find a way to add to our scholarship funds.”

Sister Mary attributes her love for working with children to having joined the Sisters of St. Dominic convent in Amityville, NY over 40 years ago and said the teaching community in which she grew up inspired her.

She attended Holy Family School in Park Slope where she grew up. She then went to Bishop McDonald High School and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Classical Language at St. John’s University. She also studied at Fordham University and received a Masters in Education. In addition, she has a certificate in administration and supervision.

She taught in various schools in Queens and was principal at All Saints Elementary School in Williamsburg for nineteen years before she brought her innovative ideas to Mary Queen Of Heaven.

“The most difficult part of my job is trying to stick to doing the right thing when you have factions all around,” she said. “Doing what I think is best is sometimes hard, but it’s easy to work with the children and interact with them on an individual level and that’s one of the things I absolutely love about being with this school.”

Sister Mary said she interacts with students by walking the halls, sitting in classrooms with children and observing them. Sometimes she even participates in class activities.

When she is not at Mary Queen Of Heaven, she enjoys listening to opera, crocheting and taking walks. She is currently planning a summer vacation. And when she retires, she said, she would like to continue working with children or retired people.

“I’ve stuck to working in education for a long time and I’m very proud of that. I want residents of the area to know that this is a quality school. We talk about the Bible and pray and our children are well disciplined. I also like the fact that many parents come here and help out when we need them.”