Groundbreaking Monday for new Father McGivney High School
GLEN CARBON – A groundbreaking will take place Monday, Sept. 22, at Old Troy and Bouse roads for the new Father McGivney Catholic High School.
The board of the school this month voted to move forward with its $7.5 million project to construct a brand new, start-of-the-art facility on the property the Diocese of Springfield owns in Glen Carbon.
“It’s really exciting, a feeling unlike any other, that we finally, after thousands of hours of hard work by hundreds of volunteers, staff members and teachers, can say we are officially breaking ground on our new facility,” Principal Mike Scholz said.
Father McGivney has been in a $5 million capital campaign for the new school since August of last year. Last week, the school officially crossed the $5 million mark in pledges, which has cleared the way for construction to take place beginning with a ceremonial groundbreaking.
The school has also received financing from First Clover Leaf Bank in Edwardsville, which has been a supporter of the new Catholic high school since its inception.
“It’s a dream come true,” School Board President Doug Villhard. “But I like to remind everyone that we’ve had a school now for three years. All we’re doing here is expanding into a permanent facility. But we’re doing so because a staggering 1,300 local families donated and they did so because they support both where we are today and where we’re headed. Those supporters are what motivate us every day at McGivney.”
The schedule of events for Monday is slated to begin at 10 a.m. with a Mass for Father McGivney students, its partner schools’ students and pastors, its board and its Founder’s Board at St. Boniface Church in Edwardsville.
The groundbreaking and blessing will be led by the head of the diocese, Most Reverend Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, will begin at 1 p.m. and is open to the public.
Attendees may park at the Maryville Baptist Church parking lot and take a shuttle provided by Father McGivney to the dedication site.
“I am grateful for the spiritual generosity and profound faith that this community has displayed with regards to Father McGivney,” said The Rev. Jeff Goeckner, dean of the Alton Deanery and Father McGivney board member. “With this new facility, we will be able to accommodate more students in order to provide them with a well-grounded Catholic education for generations to come in our location of the Alton Deanery in the Diocese of Springfield.”
Father McGivney Catholic High School opened its doors in August of 2012. For the current academic year, Father McGivney has an enrollment of 88 students, with another 60 more expected to register for next year.
The school is currently housed in its private wing at the St. John Neumann Catholic School campus on Wilma Drive in Maryville, but is scheduled to move in to its new facility for the fall semester of 2015.
The school’s classrooms are equipped with 70-inch flat screen TVs to interface with the teacher’s computer and wireless Internet connection. Each student receives his or her own laptop to access textbooks and complete homework assignments, quizzes, and test. The only hard cover book the students carry is the Bible.
To schedule a tour of the school or for more information on the groundbreaking ceremony, contact the school office at (618) 855-9010.
