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Holy Angels School principal Barbara Snively to retire after more than 20 years at school

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Barbara Snively, principal of Holy Angels School in Newark, is retiring after this school year. (Dialog file photo)

NEWARK — Barbara Snively, who has been a part of the Holy Angels School community for more than 20 years, is retiring from her position as principal at the end of the school year, the diocese announced on Feb. 5. Snively has been principal for 10 years.

She came to the Diocese of Wilmington in 1999 from Richmond, Va., and, following the advice of a friend from Virginia, immersed herself into the parish community at Holy Angels. She became a catechist for a few years and was a substitute teacher at the school until 2002. She joined the school full-time that year as a sixth-grade teacher.

“I went on from there to transfer to the math department. I had a math background,” Snively said Feb. 5.

She taught several math classes until the principal’s position opened up in 2010, and she has been there ever since. She has tried to make Catholic education available to as many students as possible.

“One of my passions was to open up diversity opportunities here for children who may need help in areas of their development,” she said.

She also wanted to increase opportunities for children of Hispanic parishioners to attend Holy Angels, and she said that enrollment has been growing the past three years. She credits that to the outreach done by her and her staff.

“I have to say that it seems to be working. We have a very big Hispanic population. That’s one of the biggest endeavors, to open the doors of opportunity,” she said.

Her hopes for the next principal is that he or she will continue to try to make Catholic education available to any family that desires one.

“It’s a gift that was given to me when I was growing up in New York,” she said.

Snively will remain in Newark and at Holy Angels Church, where she is a eucharistic minister. She hopes to become a volunteer around the area.

“I feel very blessed that I’m able to retire in June and embrace life. Spend some time with the family and give back with volunteer efforts,” she said.

She has two sons who both attended Holy Angels. One lives in New York, the other in Florida.