So I’m sitting in the principal’s office.

I’m not in trouble, but I’m troubled. The principal is my best friend for over 20 years, Danny Markowski and we’re in his office at Port Richmond’s St. George School, our alma mater and a place where he is now the boss.

The school’s safe is gone, as is the security camera system with a total of over $5,000 in stolen cash and missing property. Over the weekend of March 22-23, someone with a key, or at least access to the school, entered the building and cleaned them out. Inside the safe was money collected for the eighth grade class trip to NYC and other bank deposits. Yep, somebody knew what was in that safe.

“There was no forced entry to get in here. The only forced entry was into the actual camera box, so, it’s obviously somebody who’s familiar with our place,” Markowski said.

I’m wondering how familiar. Markowski’s office looks like a photography portrait studio. From his wedding photos to the day his four kids were born to the last good family picture of his dad, Big Ed, before cancer took him way too soon-pictures are everywhere. Pictures of all the school kids, the teachers on pajama day, pictures of Field Day in June when the schoolyard gets turned into an Olympic stadium with games, water ice, DJ music and water balloon tosses. There is even a picture of me on his file cabinet, when I was blonde and 50 pounds lighter. We were sitting together on the steps of the Art Museum ready to do the Breast Cancer walk with his mom, Betty-a survivor.

There is also a picture that stands out of Markowski and St. George pastor Monsignor Joe Anderlonis, standing shoulder to shoulder with a look of relief and exhaustion, but also passion and strength. It was taken the day they received the news that their school was NOT closing due to Archdiocese of Philadelphia budget cuts, even though their school was on the chopping block and set to close its doors in 2012. Parents, alumni, staff and students rallied, fought and prayed to St. George to “slay” this particular dragon that seems to invade so many neighborhood Catholic schools in Philly by way of shuttering their doors.

“We’ve been through a lot over the past couple of years and we do our best to try and do what we can to make our school successful and when things like this happen, it’s hurtful to us but also a violation of our space,” Markowski said.

And all these people in these pictures in Markowski’s office were silent witnesses to the burglary. Did the thief know any of the people in these pictures? Did we know the thief? Did they feel at all guilty when they lifted a table cover over a school desk and hit the jackpot when they took out the school safe? Did they hold their breath when they exactly knew where to go under the secretary’s desk to remove the school’s security camera system? Surrounded by hundreds of pictures of St. George life and times, they did not want their picture taken.

Ironically, there is one picture that comes to mind that runs with this story. It’s a picture of St. George Super Hero Day, where staff and students dressed up as their favorite super hero. The kids are dressed like Batman, Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk, Super Girl and one kid dressed as the Joker (there is always one). Markowski is wearing a Superman shirt and stands behind the kids flexing his muscles.

If only Superman was flying around Port Richmond that weekend-because they really need a hero right now.

Still, anyone with any information about this case is asked to contact the 24th District Police at 215-686-3240.