We're moving to St. Patrick's!
July 20, 2020
Saint Margaret of Antioch
As the opening day of our first school year approaches, we have some very exciting news to share with you all. For the reasons described below in this letter, we joyfully announce that our school will be opening on September 8th, not in O’Connor Hall at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, but rather at the former St. Patrick’s school on 2706 East Queen Avenue.
Many of you have given generously in time, talent, and treasure to our work at O’Connor Hall, preparing a space to house our first students and faculty. Please be assured of our immense gratitude for all that you have contributed to our high school with a higher purpose. We anticipated a small but dedicated group of families enrolling in our first year, but the enrollment has exceeded our expectations! We now have over 40 students committed to join our faculty of seven in our inaugural year. While we expected to outgrow our space at O’Connor Hall in the first few years, the projected enrollment—along with the need to prepare for the unexpected impact of COVID-19—has led us to accelerate our search for a larger facility.
We want to be sure that when we open this September, we will be able to make deliberate choices in how we address current and future guidelines from the state health department, in particular, providing ade- quate spacing for desks and tables. For the last two months, we faced increasing obstacles in making O’- Connor Hall suitable for our first year, while attempting to avoid significant and costly renovations. In the last week, we reached the painful conclusion that we could not guarantee opening at O’Connor Hall, given our numbers and our understanding of the guidelines.
Divine Providence came to our rescue. The international charter school that has been leasing the St. Patrick’s facility for the last five years decided to move to a new location two years earlier than anticipated. Thanks to the great generosity of the St. Patrick’s community led by Father Gaines and Louise Andrews, and the unwavering support of Bishop Daly, we have been presented with both a short and long-term solu- tion. We have decided to move to St. Patrick’s in August and reclaim a school building that was home to Catholic students for 99 years, affording us over 18,000 square feet of space, including eight classrooms, a library, a parish church, unlimited parking, a neighboring park/green space, and the Missionaries of Chari- ty next door! This agreement gives us long-term financial stability, allowing us to focus on growing our faculty and enriching the life of the school and the community.
Our initial choice of O’Connor Hall reflected our strong desire to forge a close relationship between the Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame and the Cathedral Parish. In partnership with Father Connall, our school will seek to foster continued opportunities for Chesterton students to spend time on the Cathedral campus, by sharing in the liturgical calendar of events, especially First Friday Masses, the Mass of the Holy Spirit, future graduation Masses and in our much anticipated choir and drama performances.
Despite the myriad challenges that we have faced over the last year to make the Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame a reality, we continue to feel God’s hand guiding us along the way. May Our Lady continue to intercede for us!
Your brothers and sisters in Christ,
The Board of Directors of the Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame
Christopher Dewing, David DeWolf, Stacy Harrington, Laura Kolbe, Zach Mallahan, Brian O’Rourk, Katie Rieckers ex officio, Rev. Darrin Connall, VG, ex officio & Matthew Powell, Headmaster, ex officio