Students and staff at St. Patrick School in Wadsworth celebrated alumnus and Olympic gold medalist Danny O’Shea at a Feb. 19 assembly that featured headbands showing off O’Shea’s trademark smile, “skating” on paper plates on the gym floor and a video message from O’Shea himself.

O’Shea, 35, and his partner, Ellie Kam, 21, skated the pairs events for the United States in the figure skating team competition, in which the U.S. team won gold on Feb. 8.

The pair finished ninth in the individual pairs competition.

He is a 2005 graduate of St. Patrick School, which he attended from kindergarten through eighth grade, said principal Mary Vitulli. During that time, his mother worked at the school as an aide.

“I spent a lot of hours in that school,” O’Shea remembered in his video message. “Before school, after school.”

More than a half-dozen former teachers and staff members who worked at St. Patrick when he was a student remembered his dedication to skating — even in kindergarten, he would come in late or leave early some days to accommodate skating practice, said Judith Trahan, his kindergarten teacher.

But they also remembered that he was a good student who was kind and respectful, and always wore his signature smile.

“The smile you see on television is the smile he had as a kid,” said Cindy Jennings, who taught O’Shea math from sixth through eighth grade.

Jill Schweitzer, who was the school nurse and a receptionist when O’Shea was a student, said she didn’t see too much of him.

“He never came to the office,” she said. “Never had to see the principal.”

The principal was Marcie Bosnak, who led St. Patrick School for 34 years.

“He was always dedicated to his skating,” Bosnak said. “But he never bragged about. He was a good student, kind, respectful.”

After graduating from St. Patrick, O’Shea attended Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein before moving to St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, which was closer to his training rink. He graduated from St. Viator in 2009.

In addition to hearing from former teachers who came for the assembly, students were able to watch some of O’Shea’s routines from the Olympics, as well interviews he and Kam did from Milan.

“I’ll tell you why he won the gold medal,” Jennings said. “He’s goal-oriented. Since kindergarten, he knew he was going to get a gold medal in the Olympics, and that’s what he did.”

O’Shea, who is the oldest figure skater to make his Olympic debut and the oldest figure skater on the U.S. Olympic team since 1932, encouraged the students at his alma mater to trust in God’s plan for their lives.

“God’s plan is not always something that you think it will be,” he said in his video message. “But follow it.”