School Update

09-01-2024Pastor's LetterVery Rev. Richard C. Wilson, VF, Pastor

Dear Friends in Christ,

As you read this our students at St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School will be entering into their fourth week of school. Time is flying by! We had an Open House on Friday, August 9^th and many parents came by with their children to show them their classrooms and meet their teachers. It was a day filled with excitement and anticipation.

The first day of school was Monday, August 12^th and the schoolyard was filled with proud parents and enthusiastic students. It was uplifting to see the joy and spirit of our students. And…our enrollment this year is at 236, up twenty from last year!

After greeting the parents, students and teachers, our Interim Principal, Mr. Kuhn, led them all in the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag. Following that, I opened the school year with some special prayers to invoke our Lord’s blessing on the students, teachers and the upcoming school year. Following those prayers, Mr. Kuhn led me through the school, and I blessed each classroom and the students and teachers with Holy Water.

And, if you have driven by our school lately you can see that we are nearing completion of the STEM Center! The exterior is essentially complete. We have installed a beautiful Celtic Cross in the courtyard between the connector and York Street. The security fencing will soon be installed and tied into the existing campus. Landscaping will be completed in early September.

The main focus going forward will be on completing the interior. The tile work and flooring are in progress. Security and communication systems are being installed and integrated with the existing campus. The elevator and auditorium seating will be installed by mid-September. The new classroom furniture will be delivered the week of September 23rd. We expect the contractor to be totally finished by the first week in October. Overall costs remain within the original estimate.

Our parish picnic is scheduled for Sunday afternoon October 13th. We plan to have tours of the STEM Center that day. I hope you can join us and experience this wonderful addition to our parish school. We are, without a doubt, entering a new era at St. Mary’s School! Again, thanks so much for all your generous support and prayers.

St. Mary Help of Christians, pray for us!

All the best…in Christ,

Father Wilson