Saint Anthony Catholic School, in San Antonio, celebrated a milestone in its history last February, when it dedicated a new classroom building.
Now, it’s in the midst of a $1.7 million renovation of the three-story brick building that formerly housed the school.
The current project, which began in June, involves a complete overhaul.
The top floor will be a cafeteria and a recreation space, said Sister Alice Ottapurackal, the school’s principal.
The second floor has a media room, a computer lab, an art room and a Spanish classroom.
The ground floor has a music room, two extra classrooms and storage space.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Children will be able to have recess and physical education inside, on the top floor, when it is too cold or rainy to go outdoors, Ottapurackal said.
“They are excited about that, and me, too. They need that time to relax and get that physical activity,” she said.
The new construction completed last year has allowed the school to enhance its programs and this renovation will, too, Ottapurackal said.
The school uses technology in each classroom.
The computer lab is intended to allow an entire class to work on projects at the same time, and also will give children an opportunity to bolster their computer skills, Ottapurackal said.
While appreciating the value of technology, the principal said the school focuses on giving students good foundational skills in reading, writing, spelling and mathematics.
The principal believes that children can quickly learn how to use computers. She wants to be sure that the school’s students know how to read, write and communicate and are able to tell if the information they find on the Internet is credible.
The classroom building completed last year allowed the school to enhance its science program, Ottapurackal said.
The renovation under way will provide more space for the music and art programs, she said. Instructional minutes for those programs won’t be increased, but the teacher will have more time to teach because the larger spaces reduce the need for taking out and storing materials before and after each class.
Like many schools, Saint Anthony Catholic School is placing an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics. The principal said it also adds another area of emphasis: religion.
The school has 217 students, in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Ottapurackal hopes it will have between 230 and 235 students next year. It has the capacity to serve 270 students.
While the Diocese of St. Petersburg supported the construction of the new classroom building, the renovation project is being paid for by community donations.
So far, $1.4 million has been raised for the project.
“We wanted to give everyone an opportunity to participate in this project. So, we had fundraising from $50 to $500,000.”
“The community here — people are so generous. It’s their school. It’s been here since 1884,” she said.
Anyone who would like more information about the school, or who would like to help in the fundraising campaign, can email .
Published January 13, 2016
