Campus building project aided by piggy banks

Even the tooth fairy has been involved in raising funds for a new building and renovations for St. Michael Catholic School.

Students have been bringing in money left by the tooth fairy, pocket change and earnings from odd jobs to insert in bulldozer-shaped piggy banks to go towards the $15 million cost to build a comprehensive new facility for the co-educational Galleria-area school that serves students in preschool through eighth grade.

"The kids are very excited. They've been drawing pictures and raising money - using the bulldozer piggy banks," said Principal Chris Skowronek of the collection efforts of the 475 students. The project will provide a three-story school building and two-story administrative wing and renovate an existing structure. Work got under way in early February and is slated to be completed for the fall semester in 2013. When completed, the school's buildings will total 70,000 square feet.

Designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's bronze rating requirements for energy efficiency and use of recycled materials, the planned facilities are needed to keep pace with technology and provide a quality education that promotes faith, administrators said.

"Our parishioners know in order to have a strong generation of faithful Catholics following them, there must be a strong Catholic school today," said Monsignor Frank Rossi, pastor of the St. Michael Catholic Church parish community. Featured in the new main building will be a science lab, complete with aquarium and lecture room. Also planned are: computer labs; a library and combined media center and reading labs; and classrooms equipped with interactive white boards. Administrative offices, a chapel and gym will be housed in the two-story wing.

A 15-year-old building that is part of the existing school will be renovated to house the cafeteria and classrooms for performing arts and language.

Recent acquisition of adjacent land will make room for athletic fields to be expanded to regulation size for football, soccer and baseball.

The current facility, dating to when the school moved there 56 years ago, will be torn down after completion of the new school, situated at the back of the 11-acre site on 1833 Sage Road. A temporary church was constructed when the school was built.

Since then, St. Michael Catholic Church, which counts more than 4,600 households, has been rebuilt and renovated, whereas the school has not received the same attention. With capacity of 520 students, the new facility also will enable the school to add a new program for 3-year-olds.

So far, students have raised $3,000 towards their goal of $5,000 toward the construction cost. Major benefactors contributed millions to kick off the capital campaign, which now stands at around $9.5 million. School families and parishioners are contributing, as are faculty and staff members.

Annette Baird is a freelance writer who can be reached at anbaird@sbcglobal.net