By TARA CONNOLLY Staff writer
After months of planning, meetings and projects, St. Jerome Regional School, Tamaqua blessed and dedicated its new educational facility Sept. 6 to accommodate the school’s growing enrollment and to improve its mission “to live fearlessly through faith.”
Bishop of Allentown Alfred Schlert was the principal celebrant for the Mass in the gymnasium and performed the dedication of the former Rush Township Elementary School, Hometown that will house 230 students enrolled for the 2018-19 school year.
Principal Amy Hannis-Miskar welcomed the students, staff, families, friends and the community to the celebration at the new learning facility that features many upgrades from the school’s original building.
“It is my hope that this new elementary school makes everyone feel welcome and comfortable where all children can learn.
This project took a lot of resources and involved many people, and through it all, the students were the focus. In the end, we believe our new school is truly a blessing,” she said.
Some of the upgrades include air conditioning, playgrounds, fields, parking lot and 13 regular classrooms (pre-K to eighth).
The facility also includes an art room, chapel/music room, small group instruction room, STEM lab/computer room, conference room, gymnasium/cafeteria/auditorium, faculty room, larger offices, maintenance room, kitchen/serving area and separate washing area.
The new 35,000-square-foot building, which was purchased for $1.2 million, will also combine students that were separated into two building with pre-K, kindergarten and first grade in one building and grades two through eight in another building.
In his homily, Bishop Schlert reflected on his more than 10 years of teaching and told the students that the new school year is “a fresh start.”
“Not only is this a new year with a fresh start, but so is your school. We are so proud that this school has come into being,” he said.
He also told the students, staff and the community that the school is more than a learning center that teaches academics, technology and athletics.
“The primary goal of Catholic education is to reveal God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. That’s why this school exists,” Schlert said.
“Above all it is a Catholic community in which everyone is welcome, but it is a Catholic community where the identity of the school is Catholic, where the reason we exist is Catholic, where Jesus is present in every school and in every classroom, and not just in the school chapel”
Bishop Schlert also lauded the students, faculty, diocesan staff and members of the community for their patience and dedication in establishing the building as the new St. Jerome Regional School.
“That is the Catholic Church at its best – when we come together to be the light of Christ to all people. It is a beautiful thing to see,” he said.
Master of ceremonies was Father Allen Hoffa, pastor of St. Joseph, Summit Hill. Assisting was Deacon Joseph Cannon, assigned to St. Joseph.
Groundbreaking for the original St. Jerome School took place Sept. 23, 1919 and it was dedicated May 30, 1921. The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary staffed the school until 2005.
