Saint Wendel Early Childhood Center Opens
The Saint Wendel Parish family will remember its 2017 observance of the Feast of Saint Wendel for a very long time. On Oct. 20, after celebrating a school Mass for the Feast Day, Pastor Father Ed Schnur blessed and dedicated the brand new Saint Wendel Early Childhood Center.
“The lesson of the Gospel today is that God has given us each special gifts,” Father Schnur said during his homily. “Some of us are good at art, others at math. Others are good at working with their hands, and others are good at caring for other people. He wants us to use and share those gifts with others to make the world a better place.”
The physical move into the Early Childhood Center occurred earlier in the week, which enabled families and guests to tour the center after Mass and the ribbon-cutting, and get a first-hand look at the new classrooms and other facilities in action.
“While today we are celebrating the successful opening of our new early childhood center, we are also celebrating the learning that comes in this place,” Principal Hallie Scheu said during the ceremony.
“Saint Wendel has been named a 4-Star School, earned an ‘A’ rating from the Department of Education and has achieved the highest ISTEP scores in the entire state of Indiana this year,” she added. “All of these accomplishments are great and very deserving but, we believe that educating our students and watching them grow is what is really important.”
Scheu made special note of the project team that worked to complete the center.
‘I would like to recognize Danny Bateman, President of ARC construction; Joe Synder, General Contractor for our project from ARC construction; and Mike and Charlene Buente, architects on the project from Buente and Buente,” she said.
“I would like to thank the Saint Wendel Catholic School Faculty and Staff. They have been integral in the design, move and start-up of our new space. As a team, they have brought our new learning environment to life through creativity, innovation, flexibility, and lots of patience.
I would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to the Saint Wendel PTO for their support and contributions made to provide our new playground and new learning spaces, as well as for the everyday support and enrichment they provide for our students’ education,” Scheu continued.
“I would like to express our gratitude to the Saint Wendel Parish community. We would not be here today without the tremendous support of our parishioners, who give generously financially to make Saint Wendel the best school and facilities around,” she added. “Our parishioners are always willing to give of their time, talent, and treasure to help our school be a success.”
