As they played, they reflected on their time at what they described as a sanctuary from the outside world.

"It's become a safe haven for a lot of kids around here," said Dyani Miller, a St. Margaret's eighth-grader, who lives in nearby Capitol Heights.

"We just have a good environment for us all," said Miller's classmate, Amber Davidson.

Davidson Dyani and Miller were just two of a number current and former students at St. Margaret's school and church, which celebrated its 50th year Saturday. Events included a barbecue, a silent auction and an anniversary mass.

Dozens of the more than 3,000 St. Margaret's graduates roamed the school hallways , reminiscing in their old classrooms or bumping into a former classmate for the first time since they left the school.

"When you come back and meet people, it's funny to see they have kids as old as we were when we went to school here."

The was the view of 1980 graduate Leon Reynolds, as he stood in a dimly-lit hallway, admiring the myriad of sports trophies St. Margaret's has won since he was a student.

After a quarter century outside the confines of St. Margaret's, Reynolds still has fond memories of the school's religious and educational values.

"When I was here, the teachers always challenged you and made you do your best in everything," said Reynolds, who lives in Waldorf.

In anticipation of the silent action, tables full of gift baskets lined the hallways Saturday afternoon as church members, faculty and students conversed over hot dogs and barbeque.

John Cooley, a longtime member of St. Margaret's and an active participant in several of the church's outreach programs, has seen the church's positive effect on the Seat Pleasant community. "As long as I've been here, I've seen an outreach to the community," said the District Heights resident.

St. Margaret's outreach efforts include the SHARE program, a local volunteer organization that provides food for those in need of help.

"We try to help people get what they need to survive on a day-to-day basis ... It's very gratifying because you get to see the benefit to people's lives."

As he helped make final preparations for the weekend's festivities, the Rev. David Lupo, pastor at St. Margaret's since 2002, discussed the church's influence in the Seat Pleasant area.

"We have provided the foundation for a lot of people who have passed trough here," said Lupo, who also served as pastor from 1991 to 1995. "Whether they were students or teachers or the administration ... we've provided a structure for people."

Lupo said St. Margaret's community is strengthened when parishioners enroll their children in the school.

Paa Kwesi Bartels, a church member and an eighth grader at the school, has reaped the benefits of St. Margaret's moral and educational guidance.

"They've taught me how to go off in life and not get lost," said Bartels, who lives in the area. When a rash of crime hit the Seat Pleasant region, Bartels sees St. Margaret's as a safe haven. "There's been some bad things that go on around here, but St. Margaret's has been a place for us to get away and go somewhere else."

For those who didn't know St. Margaret's Principal Charon Hines before last weekend, it was nearly impossible to pick her out of the crowd.

Dressed in a blue volunteer shirt and scurrying around the hallways carrying boxes piled above her head, the energetic Hines joined the other workers who made sure the 50th anniversary went smoothly.

Hines, in her third year as principal, said St. Margaret's would thrive for another 50 years if parishioners, faculty, and students continue to spread the church's message. But last Saturday, she was content mingling with priests, nuns, and parishioners on a perfectly sunny afternoon.

"The 50th anniversary merges our past, present, and future," she said. "It is exceptionally exciting to have everyone here together."

Dennis Carter at e-mail cdcarter13@comcast.net