Historic JPII school opens

By CHRISTIE L. CHICOINE
CS&T Staff Writer

In a former cornfield in Chester County, there now stands a stately $12 million school that was 15 years in the making — the first regional elementary school in archdiocesan history built to serve more than one parish.

The school, Pope John Paul II Regional Catholic Elementary School, rang its bell for the first time in early January for youngsters from six neighboring parishes.

“It’s amazing,” said eighth-grader Nicole Ruszkay, the student council president of the new school, which is located at 2875 Manor Road on Pennsylvania Route 82 in West Brandywine Township.

“When we were in third grade, we were thinking we’d be in the new school in sixth grade, but it never happened,” Nicole said. “To be the first [graduating] class to go into the new school — it’s just unbelievable.”

Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Helen Loretta Mapa, the principal, is also happy about the new school. The children, she said, “are in awe of their new surroundings.”

The new school replaces the Coatesville Area Catholic Elementary School, a consolidated school that had operated since 1970 in classrooms at St. Cecilia, St. Joseph and St. Stanislaus Kostka parishes in Coatesville.

It also serves students from Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Coatesville and Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Parkesburg. And next September, it will begin accepting all students from St. Peter Parish, now in Honey Brook, which is building its parish facilities on adjacent property.

St. Cecilia School was built in 1907, St. Joseph, in 1958 and St. Stanislaus in 1917.

In those old parish school buildings, nearly 500 students and faculty members had been maneuvering through narrow hallways, and coats and jackets were hung on pegs because there were no closets in the classrooms. In one building, the nurse’s office consisted of a closet; in another, it shared space with the vice principal’s office.

The three school buildings closed in December. During the Christmas holiday, the administration, faculty and staff, as well as hundreds of parishioners, assisted with the move to the new site, which is five miles north of Coatesville.

The collaborative effort went smoothly, Sister Helen Loretta said, and everyone seems to be adjusting well to the new school, which houses every age group under one roof.

In fact, when the kindergartners first saw eighth-graders on the same campus, they were reported to have exclaimed: “Big people!”

Of course, there are still some ‘i’s to dot and ‘t’s to cross.

For instance, Mary Kay Hennessy, a sixth-grade instructor, said some students are still getting lost on their way to classes.

To ease the younger students into their new environment, the school initially implemented a “buddy” system, so that pupils could travel the hallways in pairs, Hennessy said. But on more than one occasion, she’s found herself gently directing students to “turn the other way,” to get them where they need to go.

Hennessy said she’s also heard the school described as the “Shanahan of the elementary schools.” Because of space needs, Bishop Shanahan High School was moved from its location in West Chester into a $30 million, state-of-the-art school building in Downington almost 10 years ago.

“It’s a dream come true. We’re very blessed,” added Hennessy, who taught at the former Coatesville Area Catholic school for 27 years.

Three of the parishes that make up the regional school have ethnic origins — St. Stanislaus was founded for Polish immigrants, Our Lady of the Rosary for Italian immigrants, and St. Joseph for Slovak immigrants.

The new school is on part of a 500-acre tract at routes 322 and 82, which the Archdiocese purchased in the early 1960s to create All Souls Cemetery. The cemetery will consist of 200 acres north of the school; a large cross marks its location.

According to Father Hans A. L. Brouwers, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, coordinating pastor of the school who served as chairman of the cluster 42 school planning committee, the new school boasts 90,000 square feet. It can accommodate up to 885 students and house three classrooms for each grade, kindergarten through eighth. An unfinished second floor can accommodate another seven classrooms.

There are approximately 500 students on the current roster.

“My new classroom has a bathroom in it,” said 6-year-old Colleen Ivkovich, a kindergartner. “I like the library because there’s a lot of books,” she added. “It’s big, and there’s a TV in there.”

In addition to the 27 classrooms, the new building includes a library, computer and science laboratories, a music studio and practice room, four intermediate unit areas, a math enrichment center, a large gymnasium, and a large multi-purpose room with a stage, which also serves as the cafeteria.

The facility’s 30-acre lot also has a soccer field and baseball field. A track will be built around the soccer field at a later date.

Township requirements also required 288 trees and 238 shrubs on the school site, according to Father Brouwers. The property, he said, “will look like a forest in a few years.”

The parishes bear the cost of the school, according to the total registered population in each parish. A capital campaign has raised more than $4 million and the remainder will be paid through a 30-year mortgage approved by the Archdiocese, according to Father Brouwers, who coordinated the school’s construction.

Since the parishes involved also have CCD/PREP programs, their pastors are in the process of consolidating those programs, allowing them to pool resources and offer more religion classes through a regional educational program.

Cardinal Justin Rigali approved the name John Paul II Regional Catholic Elementary School for the new facility on May 18, 2005 — which would have been the late pope’s 85th birthday.

On June 5, 2005, the Cardinal broke ground and blessed the school site, saying the regional facility will “keep alive the name of Pope John Paul II.”

The regional vicar of Chester County at the time, Msgr. James T. McDonough, said the late pope would be pleased if the boys and girls at his namesake school grow up “filled with faith, and love the Lord, and love one another. I think that’s what he’d want.”

The pastors of the parishes that make up the new school are eager to allow their parishioners, as well as individuals and organizations throughout the area, to use all of its facilities, including the gym and athletic fields, Father Brouwers said.

“We hope the new school will provide a strong Catholic presence as it opens its doors to people of all ages for educational, formation and recreational purposes for decades to come,” he said.

To contribute to the school’s capital campaign, call (610) 384-5961.

For more information, check out the school’s Web site at www.pope johnpaul2sch.org.

CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at (215) 587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.

By CHRISTIE L. CHICOINE
CS&T Staff Writer

The former principal of Coatesville Area Catholic Elementary School once jokingly told her successor that someone should put a flower on her grave when ground was finally broken for the new regional elementary school building.

As time passed, her successor began to think someone would have to put flowers on both their graves.

Fortunately, both principals have been proven wrong.

Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Leo Mary and Helen Loretta, the former and current principals, respectively, were both acknowledged Sunday, June 5, when Cardinal Justin Rigali broke ground and blessed the site of the new school building in Chester County on Route 82 in West Brandywine Township, five miles north of Coatesville.

Cardinal Rigali said the school will be built on “one foundation — Jesus Christ.” The Cardinal commended those attending the ceremony for their collaboration, in Jesus’ name, of meeting the challenge of building the school. As a result of their work, he said, area children “may know and love Jesus Christ, live according to His Gospel, and have the rewards that are promised to all those who are faithful to Him.”

On May 18 — which would have been Pope John Paul II’s 85th birthday — Cardinal Rigali approved a request by area Catholics to name the new school John Paul II Regional Catholic Elementary School.

It will be the first elementary school in the Archdiocese’s history that is built to serve more than one parish.

Scheduled to open in September 2006, the $10.8 million school will replace the present Coatesville Area Catholic Elementary School, a consolidated school that has been operating since 1970 in classrooms at St. Cecilia, St. Joseph and St. Stanislaus Kostka parishes. In addition to students from those three parishes, the school also now serves students from Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Coatesville and Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Parkesburg as well as some students from St. Peter Parish, currently in Honey Brook. In 2006, the new school will also serve all students from St. Peter Parish, which is moving its facilities to a property adjacent to the new school. Groundbreaking of St. Peter’s new, $10. 2 million church in West Brandywine, approximately three miles from its present church in Honey Brook, is expected to begin late this summer.

According to Father Hans A. L. Brouwers, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Coatsville and chairman of the cluster 42 school planning committee, Pope John Paul II Regional Catholic Elementary School will boast 90,000 square feet and accommodate up to 900 students. Coatesville Area Catholic currently has 476 students enrolled.

The new school will have three classrooms for each grade, kindergarten through eighth-grade.

In addition to the 27 classrooms, the new building will include a library; computer and science laboratories; an art studio and two music studios; four intermediate units, a math enrichment center, a large gymnasium, and a large multipurpose room with a stage.

The 30-acre site also has ample room for a soccer field, track and baseball field.

“It’s just so amazing that we’re getting a new school and we’re all going to be together in one building, learning together,” said third-grader Colleen Griffin. “Most importantly … my family is going to be in the same building,” she said. That will include Ryan, currently a seventh-grader; Lauren, a fifth-grader, and Peyton, a first-grader. Right now, the four siblings go to school in three separate buildings. Another sister, Shannon, now a freshman at Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown, is a 2004 alumna of Coatesville Area Catholic.

Jim Griffin, Colleen’s father, is a co-chair of the steering committee for the new school’s capital campaign.

“Today was very fulfilling,” he said following the groundbreaking. “I’m excited about the reality.”

Joseph Brown, a sixth-grader, said he can’t wait to use the new school’s library and science laboratories.

Currently, science experiments are conducted in a classroom where space is so limited the students bump elbows as they work, Joseph said. He added that when he saw the first shovel hit the ground at the ceremony, he thought: “That’ s one hole dug, about a million more to go.”

Becca Refford, a fifth-grader, said she can’t wait to practice cheers in the new gymnasium. “We practice in the basement of our school, and we have no room. We can’t do stunts, because the ceiling’s too low.”

The late-afternoon groundbreaking drew numerous students, parents, clergy and religious as well as representatives from the Secretariat for Catholic Education, and other archdiocesan and civic officials.

Sister Helen Loretta observed happily: “This is the day that we’ve been waiting for. It’s the Lord’s work in the Lord’s time.”

She described the project as “a venture of faith,” adding that when the shovels actually broke the earth, she thought, “It’s for real.”

In his closing remarks at the ceremony, Father Brouwers observed that in just over one year, “a three-story building will be right here” on a tract that was most recently a cornfield.

Township requirements also provide for 288 trees and 238 shrubs on the school site, according to Father Brouwers. “So the site … will look like a forest in a few years.”

Since the parishes involved in the building project also have religious education programs, their pastors are considering consolidating the programs, which would allow them to pool their resources and offer more religion classes.

The parishes bear the cost of the school according to the total registered population in each parish. A capital campaign has raised nearly $2.6 million to date, and the Archdiocese has approved a $7.3 million loan.

Noting the years of preparatory work, the groundbreaking was a “day of unparalleled joy,” said Richard McCarron, Secretary for Catholic Education.
Msgr. James T. McDonough, vicar for Chester County, called the groundbreaking for the new school an answer to more than 15 years of prayer and hard work by all involved.

At the same time, he reflected on the school’s rich history. “Now, to see all that come to fruition — we’re the first regional Catholic elementary school to be built in the Archdiocese, in its [nearly] 200-year history — is just something to be very grateful for. And we’re grateful to Almighty God.”

Pope John Paul II must have been smiling down upon the new site of the school that bears his name and wanting “all the boys to consider a vocation to the priesthood,” Msgr. McDonough added with a smile.

The school’s namesake, the vicar said, would also be pleased if all the boys and girls at Pope John Paul II Regional Catholic Elementary School continued to be “filled with faith, and love the Lord and love one another. I think that’s what he’d want.”

CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine can be reached at (215) 587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org

For more information, including how to contribute to the capital campaign, call the school at (610) 384-5961