When students returned to Diocesan Catholic schools the week of Aug. 7, 2023, school administrators were in a last-minute rush to complete summer improvement projects which ranged from a fresh coat of paint, the installation of portable classrooms, to new roofs.
The work across the Diocese took advantage of students being off campus as crews with heavy equipment conducted loud and dusty work. The work is expected to continue in some locations right up to and beyond the first day of school, which was Aug. 9.
At Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers, crews have been working at various locations across the campus. Work included the installation of six new portable classrooms behind the theater to accommodate the growing number of students as well as other cosmetic upgrades throughout. Meanwhile, the finishing touches are being put on a new entrance to Viking Stadium. In its final phase in mid-August, the new plaza is being dedicated to Coach Mike Gill, who has been a teacher at Verot for more than 50 years. The work is expected to be completed by the first kickoff of the coming football season in late August.
Workers also descended on Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota, throughout the summer. One building received a new roof, while there was new paint in the hallways and bathrooms, updates to the gymnasium roof and major renovations to the baseball field. Unexpected repair work was needed due to a mid-summer thunderstorm, which caused damage to the roof of the media center and a covered walkway, but that work was completed by the first day.
There have been several upgrades at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School in Naples. Work included installing two new modular classrooms to handle increased enrollment, new middle school lockers, an audio/visual system in the gymnasium, renovated restrooms in the cafeteria, smart boards, shiny floors, and much more.
Four additional classrooms were added to Donahue Academy of Ave Maria Catholic School in Ave Maria. These rooms had been used for various purposes, such as storage and other school activities, but the need for the class space became pressing as there has been a massive increase in enrollment in the past few years.
A new covered basketball court is being installed at St. Joseph Catholic School in Bradenton. This court is nearing completion as the finishing touches are added. The covered area will allow more outdoor activities for students, including sports such as tennis and pickleball.
For Epiphany Cathedral Catholic School, much of the work focused on completing roof repairs from Hurricane Ian. The main school building was temporarily unusable following the Sept. 28, 2022, storm. Temporary repairs to the interior building and roof allowed students to return to the building by early January 2023, but the installation of the new permanent metal roof took most of the summer. St. Ann Catholic School in Naples also received a new roof in an upgrade to protect from future storms.
All ongoing work is expected to be completed soon, putting the 15 Diocesan Catholic schools in good shape for the more than 6,200 in the classrooms this year!
Sophia McCartney, a senior at St. John Neumann Catholic High School in Naples, has announced her commitment to accept an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2024. McCartney is a star basketball player at Neumann and intends to play at West Point.
Bus ride to the outskirts of Fatima in the countryside where the Aug. 19, 1917, apparition of Our Lady of Fatima took place. Pilgrims took part in two-mile Estação da Via Sacra (Stations of the Cross), or Caminho dos Pastorinhos (path of the little shepherds), which included 14 chapels that represent the different stations of the Way of the Cross. Father Alex Pince, Parochial Vicar at Epiphany Cathedral led the Diocesan group through the stations on the second anniversary of his priestly ordination.
This visit also included a stop at the Cenacolo Community (Fraternity Angel of Peace) which ministers to those suffering from addictions, as well as the Parish Church of Fatima where Sts. Lucia, Francisco and Jacinto, were baptized, as well as to the Shrine Museum. St. Francisco died in 1919 at the age of 10, Jacinto died in 1920, at the age of 9, both from the 1919 global influenza outbreak. They are the Church’s youngest saints who did not die as martyrs, with Jacinta the youngest.
Each afternoon of WYD a Youth Festival is taking place throughout the city. In Cidade da Alegria, is a Vocational Fair and Reconciliation Park. During the Vocational Fair, young pilgrims encounter various movements, associations, communities, religious orders, and projects of social nature. Reconciliation Park is where pilgrims encounter the Merciful Christ through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Rise Up catechesis continues. Evening welcoming ceremony for Pope Francis at Colina de Econtro (Parque Eduardo VII). Youth Festival.
Hanson’s distinguished career includes more than 11 years of experience as a principal or assistant principal in both public and Catholic school settings. She served as the principal of St. Clement School in Chicago, Illinois where she led the school to its first National Blue-Ribbon School award in the school’s 100-year history. She is an award-winning teacher with experience in middle school math, science, and language arts. Hanson holds a B.S. in Finance and a Master of Education in Teaching and Learning from DePaul University, and has completed doctoral level coursework in educational policy, organization and leadership at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
Snyder went on to become the founding Upper School Principal of Aquinas American School in Madrid, Spain. He returned to the United States in 2015 to accept a role as founding Headmaster of True North Classical Academy in Miami, where he helped grow the school from 180 students to more than 1,700. He returned to Donahue in 2021 as assistant principal. Snyder has several degrees including a B.S. in Biology from Florida Atlantic University, a B.S. of Philosophy from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, a master’s degree in K-12 Educational Leadership, and a Doctorate in Higher Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. He is currently pursuing a second Master’s in Character Education from the University of Birmingham’s Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues in London, England.
Father Belmonte stressed the need for the new employees to be “Catholic School Culture” advocates in whatever role they may have in the different schools. A “Catholic School Culture” is the vision, values, systems, language, expectations, behaviors, and beliefs that increase a school’s and Diocese’s chances of accomplishing the strategy of fulfilling its mission: to introduce the world to its Savior.
