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Sun, Jun 07, 2009 3:17 pm
Congratulations SPPA!!
From: Barry Westhoff Former St. Pete's Class of 1961 and hopefully having a 50th year class reunion barryw@hcctel.net Living on, and owning a farm near Buffalo Lake, Minnesota
Friday, March 20, 2009 6:24pm I get home from a full day and I realize it is my day to clean the school. I am tired and I think to myself, why did I ever sign up for this? All the way to the school, I am wondering if my cleaning partner has already shown up, did they do the classrooms or the bathrooms? What am I going to have to do when I get there? I get into the school
building and sign in. I look up and the see Mary and Jesus’ picture looking
at me. I read the reason for the school is Jesus. I turn and head down the
hallway. I pass the picture of the Corvette that was donated and raffled off
to save our school. What a generous gift we were given and how hard everyone
worked to save our school. I remember the meetings we used to have every
Thursday evening and how close we all got, becoming a family with one mission
in mind - To keep Sts. Peter and Paul traditions going. I head on down to the janitor’s closet. No one has shown up to clean yet. I get out the mop bucket and head to the Cafeteria. On the way, I look at the posters on the wall in the hallway. Children have made posters of their families and their special times. Many of them include pictures of 1st Holy Communion or Baptisms, where they received their Sacraments. These are the special memories they want to share. I push the mop bucket past the artwork, the stories, the posters, each one telling a special story from the life of a precious child. When I am in the Cafeteria, I put up all the chairs on the tables. As I fold them and stack them, I think about all the time it took to collect these chairs and tables. I think about the time and effort that went into tiling this floor. I think about all the families working together that summer to tile the entire school. How much sweat and laughter went into making this place look new, from tiling the floors to the painting of the walls and ceilings. This is our home. I finished the Cafeteria and head into the gym. The floor still shines like new. As I run the dustmop over the floor, I picture what it looked like when we first came to the school. It was black and warped and stained. I recall the men running the sander over the floor as Ralph McSwain instructed. I think of the hours that went into sanding, staining and painting that gymnasium to restore it to new condition. I think of the children who have enjoyed the gym for almost 2 years now. The PE classes, the CYO and VYO teams of boys and girls who have practiced there. The MND drill teams who have used our gym for practice. What would they have done without it? I finish the gym and head down the primary hall to clean some bathrooms. I stop by the displays and read what the children want to be when they grow up. One little girl wants to be a teacher, like her teacher here at the Academy. What a compliment! I push the door open to the Nurse’s office and remember how much time went into sanding each door to make them look so beautiful. I remember people taking them off the hinges, putting them on the saw horses and heading outside to sand them. As I clean the nurse’s office bathroom, I think of the volunteers who have made this school work. Our nurse and computer teacher are just two who freely give their time to serve and teach our children. I’m just about done
cleaning the bathrooms when I start thinking how good they look now. I
remember how black they were when we first walked through this building. So
many people donated time to work on them, install new fixtures, paint the
stalls, clean them, and make the bathrooms shine. As I am spraying the water fountains down with Lysol, I think about them being donated. These nice water fountains replaced the missing and old ones that were there. I am still amazed that every single item in this school was donated when we opened. Every book, desk, chair, table -everything in the building, donated. I think of the time and effort it took to collect those items, clean them and arrange them in the rooms with only a couple of months time before the school would open. I am a little tired as I
finish cleaning up, but I am proud of the school that we have all worked to
build for our children. I look up at the crucifix as I am dust mopping the
hallway. I see the very first donation to the Academy, the crucifix. Jesus
stretching out his arms on the cross, to show us how much he loves us. He gave
all for us. It makes me feel like cleaning the school for a couple of hours is
a little thing that I can do to give back. And that is what we are all doing
when we work to make this school a success. We are saying, by our actions,
that our Faith is important to us. It is important enough to us, that we
sacrifice time to clean the school . We also put time in to sell the raffle
tickets, to work the fundraisers, to attend the dances because it is important
to help make the school work. I know it is not easy sometimes, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. It is definitely worth the effort. Building a strong foundation for the future success of this Academy is important to our children and their future. Being able to teach our children about God everyday with their studies is essential to building their Faith. As I leave to turn out the lights, I see the Mary statue with the light shining on her. It makes me feel warm inside. It makes me think of the light we have brought to all of the children who go here and will go here in the future. It’s important. The little things that each one of us do to make this Academy succeed long term is important. I walk out to my car and remember all the time, effort, money and donations that went into the Academy by hundreds of people. I stand up a little straighter and am happy to say that I am still building this Foundation. Anonymous
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 6:21am Saints
Peter & Paul Parish 330
West Vine Street, Reading Oh 45215 www.saintspeterandpaulreading.com 513-554-1010 Fish
Bake and Social will be from 5:00 to 7:00
PM every Friday during Lent - in our
beautiful Parish Cafeteria. Dinners
$6 including coffee, tea; desserts extra; Carry
out at 554-1311 Call ahead and we will have it ready at the time
you request. Menu:
Baked fish (breaded and crispy), macaroni and
cheese or fries, Cole slaw or
applesauce, and coffee or tea. For pizza lovers, we also offer
Angelo’s individual cheese pizzas while supplies last.
New England Clam Chowder (white) and homemade desserts, including cakes, pies,
brownies, and cookies For
entertainment, we will have Split the Pot and a special Lenten Afghan Raffle -
a beautiful Easter Bunny afghan that you will want to take home. Chances for
this special item will be sold throughout the Lenten season and the drawing
will be at 6:30pm on the last Lenten Fish Bake night. Parking
is plentiful and right at the door. Contact Russ Wulf if you wish to volunteer at 821-0419 Sandy
Stall
Thu, Jun 19, 2008 6:28 am
Just thought it would be nice to mention in the next
update that some of our soon to be 3rd graders game in 1st place
in the VYO D league and 1st place in the tournament this week. Blaise, Chas,
Dillon, Alex and Nick were part of the Cardinals....I have attached some
pictures..........thanks!
Stephanie
Thu, Mar 06, 2008 10:51 pm Something is spreading through SPPA. It started with Kindergarten and First grades, but now it has spread to the Second and Third graders. Teachers are aware of this. Each parent is slowly learning about it. It starts by your child bringing home an innocent looking duffle bag. The one that came to my house, was purple and the only tell-tell clue of what it contained, was a picture of Mother Mary you could see through the mesh covering on the side of the duffle bag. It's what was inside that may cause your child or you to change. Inside is an old piece of foam that looks like it came out of a couch or chair. There is a video to watch, a book to read, a candle to light and something delicately wrapped in layers of tissue paper. Upon unfolding the tissue paper, a beautiful, small statue of Mother Mary was revealed. Underneath all of these treasures was a collection of different colored Rosaries. "You can keep one if you want," my child sweetly said. Together we watched the video. It was an animated version of the story of Fatima, where Mother Mary appeared several times to 3 children in Portugal in the 1930's. Her message was that through praying the Rosary, our world can be saved. The offenses of many can be forgiven by saying the Rosary. Peace can come to this world by saying the Rosary. We can please God by saying the Rosary. My child has started praying the Rosary. He has not missed a single day of praying the whole Rosary since that purple duffle bag made it's way to our house a week ago. I hope that he will continue in his newfound love of this prayer. He saw and believes that it can make a difference. He knows that as Catholics, we pray the Rosary for many reasons. We offer up our prayers of the Rosary so that we can be closer to Mary, Jesus and Our Father in Heaven. My child's Faith has grown a little more by this traveling Mary bag. My own Faith grew too. It is helping to continue another Catholic tradition. One more child praying is a good thing. Let's keep the traveling Mary bag moving through the Academy. We'd like to thank Mrs. Loretta Pfenning, from Our Lady Queen of Reading, for bringing the traveling Mary bags to SPPA. A grateful parent of Sts. Peter and Paul Academy
Tue, Nov 20, 2007 2:03 pm Although we were not able to support your efforts financially or with physical labor, our prayers have always been with the people of SPPA. We're thrilled to read about your successes and are so proud to know the faces that brought SPPA to life. We miss being a part of the Reading community, and most of all, a part of the community of our faith, which is still thriving through your efforts.
Praying for your continued
success,
Rajean (Goodhart) Hisle
and Family
(Eddie says hello to all of
his friends at SPPA )
10/23/2007 11:45:52 AM The
Beer Tasting was ONE WONDERFUL EVENT ! Grandma Audrey
Wed, 3 Oct 2007 11:46 am
Explanation of
Catholic School Closings Sound Innocent
The explanation of
catholic school closings by the archdiocese sounds plausible and well
thought out. However, at Sts. Peter and Paul School (SPPS) in Reading, our
school was closed through secret meetings and deceit, feeding on the fears
of other long-time parishioners that the church would close.
The “reorganization
of catholic schools” by the archdiocese is nothing more than solid
business practices. The corporate archdiocese has been decimated financially
by their sinful and shameful conduct in encouraging and protecting predator
priests preying on obedient catholic children. So they now look, as any
prudent corporation would, to increase revenue, decrease expenses, and
maximize profit.
Our
priest admonished the congregation, “stop the rumors. The school IS NOT
CLOSING”. Next thing you know our priest left for the weekend and
parishioners were left to tell the parish, at all masses, the school was
closing.
A grassroots group
emerged to save our precious school. Originally scoffed at by parish and
archdiocese administrations, they haughtily smirked, if you can come up with
$300,000 the school can stay. As it became obvious this would happen the
group was told $600,000 in 24 hours. Could not be done, school closed. The
archdiocese blamed the priest, the priest blamed the archdiocese.
The school group
continued and subsequently informed the priest/archdiocese that with the
money they have could they leases the school (the parish paid for that
school in the 50’s, and now the parishioners are being asked to lease the
building they paid for?) The group gave an amount they could afford. The
parish and archdiocese administrations doubled the amount and added
unattainable demands such as all landlord responsibilities (i.e. boilers,
roofs, parking lot maintenance and replacements) and waved as the group
proceeded to the “Miracle on Clark Road”.
The “moral” of
this story being, The archdiocese could care less about affordable local
catholic education for the true disciples of Jesus Christ, OUR CHILDREN.
Their only concern is MONEY.
Bruce Jones
I was a life-long
parishioner of Sts. Peter & Paul until recently and am currently
parishless. My children are third generation alumni. Other than my support I
have no official connection with the “Miracle on Clark Road”. Although
my faith is strong my belief in the church is questionable.
9/19/2007 12:31:35 AM You touched some lines I have lived my life
by. From a letter from St. I suspect lots of them expected the Founders
to boycott the Festival and
Thu, Aug 23, 2007 6:38 am
Mon, Aug 20, 2007 1:12 pm I can't believe the beginning of the school year is
already here. Thanks to everyone who has worked so hard!
(especially my parents!) You are all amazing! Congrats to all of
you for making this work. I can't wait until Cooper is a student at SPPA!!
Mon, Aug 13, 2007 3:16 pm
Hello, I recently came across your website. First let
me congratulate you and your volunteers for an outstanding job getting this
academy ready. My name is Greg Hostiuck, and I am a recent graduate of ITT
Technical Institute. I live in Reading, and I own a computer repair and
consulting business: PC Wizard Consultants. I was wondering if you were in
need of any help in the Computer Labs. I am very adapt at computer
instruction as well, and I have numerous computer accessories available here
at my lab. I would also be interested in volunteering my time to keep the
computers updated and maintained.
Greg
8/1/2007 10:25:52 PM As the parent of two children who have
graduated from a small Catholic grade school, I wish to congratulate you and
the other parents responsible for saving your school!!!
Fri, Jul 27, 2007 1:22 pm As an excited parent and one who has been down
working with my family at the school, the new and deepened friendships made
while working side by side with the other parents has been a very wonderful
spiritual and FUN experience for our whole family. We are very Blessed
to have soooo many GREAT families with BIG HEARTS AND HANDS working sooo very
HARD for our SPPA !!!!!!! THANKS AGAIN !!! AND GOD
BLESS!!!!!!
Thu, Jul 26, 2007 9:15 pm Dear Friends of SPPA, I would like to personally thank each and every one of you who take the time to make this dream a reality through your gifts--whatever they may be. I hope everyone comes to the picnic on August 24th! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Angie Mitsch and Savannah :)
Tue, July 17, 2007 12:05 pm I believe we used 7/16" wrenches the evening I was there. There are a couple down there in a small brown bag. I picked them up at the Bargain Barn - really cheap.
The electric ones are better if
anyone has one - you might want to bring it.
See you there!
Audrey
Tue, July 17, 2007 12:00 pm
Hello everyone-
We will not be holding a Founders meeting this
Thursday night. However, we need your help! We need folks to bring
their wrenches to take apart old desks, folks to clean windows and lockers.
We are making a HUGE push to get all the big
things finished by this weekend!! Our goal is to complete the building
by August 1st (a week from next Wednesday) so the teachers have time to get
their classrooms ready. Once the tile is laid and waxed, we will need to
move furniture and classroom supplies into their appropriate places.
School starts in just 35 days and we have
plenty to do. We will need everyone's help beginning next week for
several days. Be sure to check the website often so you know what we
need specific help with and what day and times.
It is so incredibly exciting seeing this all
come together-- our children will have the most beautiful school thanks to the
giving hearts and hands of hundreds of parents, donors and volunteers!
Thanks so very much!
Sheila
P.S. Be on the look out for an
announcement this weekend regarding the Uniform Exchange!
Fri, Jun 08, 2007 9:38 am
Thurs, May 31, 2007 11:34 am Please post this letter from Crayons to Computers that was sent to one of our Board members. It sounds like anyone associated with Sts. Peter and Paul Academy could volunteer for a Teacher this summer to start earning a shopping certificate for a teacher to shop at Crayons to Computers. It is a store stocked with donated items that can be purchased by volunteering to work there. Maybe someone will have time to donate a few hours this summer and will take the initiative to do it for one of the teachers. Thank you! 5/30/2007 8:23:32 AM Thanks
for your interest in volunteering @ Crayons to Computers. We would love to have
your teachers “volunteer-to-shop” for supplies here. 3
hours of volunteering = a shopping certificate, which =, on the average, $476
worth of merchandise. We also have a program called “Volunteer for a
Teacher” (VFAT). A
parent of a student, a friend, member of the board, or relative may volunteer
for three hours and the certificate will be sent to the teacher! It’s a great
way to get the parent(s) involved. Summer
volunteer opportunities are listed below:
July
21-August 20 Participating
STAPLES: Mondays:
5-8pm
(513)
482-3290
Wed, May 30, 2007 9:59 am Just want to let you know that the Library is having it's annual book sale downtown next week 6/4 thru 6/8. You can get books dirt cheap at their sales, so it could be a good place to go to stock the SPPA library. Sincerely, Mary Effler class of '70
Fri, May 18, 2007 7:00pm ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL Sts. Peter and Paul Academy (SPPA), a new private independent school serving grades K-8 recently established in Reading, Ohio, is seeking qualified candidates for this very important position. SPPA will be operating under a Letter of Approval by the State of Ohio for the 2007-2008 school year. Upon completion of the first year, the Academy will earn its charter and the process to be accredited by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will begin. This position requires an energetic, dynamic leader (as well as team player) and faith-filled professional that is capable of continuing the mission of Catholic education to our children. The successful candidate must be a practicing Catholic and be certified as a principal in the State of Ohio. Salary will reflect certification and experience. Interested candidates please e-mail sheila_lichtenberg@yahoo.com or mail cover letter, certificate and resume as soon as possible to the following: Sheila Lichtenberg, Chairman of the Board Sts. Peter and Paul Academy, 231 Clark Road, Reading, Ohio 45215
Tue, May 15, 2007 12:16 pm Dear Sir or Madam: I am a proud graduate of SPPS - Class of 1966. This August I am retiring after 30 years employment - I currently direct the Division of Applied Research and Technology at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control. I would like to volunteer to serve as a tutor at the new academy. I have a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry. I can tutor in science, math, and German. I applaud your efforts to provide this educational opportunity for the young folks in Reading. Mary Lynn Woebkenberg
Mon, May 14, 2007 5:35 pm Do you have an opening for a science teacher?
Thank you for visiting our website and for your question. Presently, we have a
wonderful science teacher who has been donating her time for the past 7 years
to Sts. Peter and Paul School. She has agreed and is looking forward to volunteering
extended hours at the new Academy. We are always searching for new volunteers
that may offer enrichment classes to our students. Please feel free to contact
us again if you are interested.
Fri, May 11, 2007 8:20 am I received a call from Penny at Pac Van, she told me you were in need of office supplies. Could you tell me what you need and the quantities. I see what I can do. Thanks, Tim Frede - President Greater Cincinnati Office Products, Inc.
Mon, May 07, 2007 7:57 am My
name is Terri Miller and I am a parent/board member of the Mt.
Notre Dame Dance Team. We are always looking for ways to give back to the
community in some type of way and thought we would check with you to see if our
girls and parents can help out. If you need help cleaning, painting or any
other helping hand, please let us know. Congrats
on the new location. Terri
Miller
Sat, May 05, 2007 5:19 pm
I am so inspired by all
of you who are working for Sts. Peter & Paul Academy! The Holy
Spirit is alive and flourishing!! Thanks to everyone for your time,
prayers and support in helping our children continue Catholic Education
in the City of Reading!
Love and Prayers, Missie :)
Fri, May 04, 2007 11:20 am To whomever - I am interested in helping you with whatever we might be able to do. Please give the e-mail of a contact person for me to communicate with. Sister Ann St. Boniface School, Northside.
Fri, May 04, 2007 9:44 am
I've been following the media
reports on your school. Yesterday's article in the Cincinnati Enquirer
made me so happy to see people who instead of saying, "No." are true
problem solvers!
Where is the greatest need at this
time? General donations or donations to tuition assistance?
I noticed Mike Rakel is on your
school board. How lucky you are to have him. He was a teacher of
mine at Precious Blood in Dayton, OH in the late 70's!
Amy Tucker,SRS Amy, thank you for visiting our website and for your comments. The greatest need at the present is general donations. Our costs are higher than anticipated as we did not work out a lease with our administrators at our Parish and were forced to look elsewhere to have our school. As this new building at 231 Clark Road, is totally empty, we are in need of everything to stock it and have it ready by August for school to start. Any size donation would be helpful. Your prayers and support are also needed and appreciated.
Wed, May 02, 2007 5:45 pm Hello, I saw an article in the Enquirer that you were looking for school materials. My brother works in construction and just tore down a Cincinnati Public school and said it was full of materials. You might want to contact them and see if they have desks and shelving they could donate. I hope this helps! Alison
Wed, May 02, 2007 7:43 am Thanks to everyone involved in this effort. I can't think of a better project to donate my time and money too. Dan
Mon, Apr 30, 2007 7:14 pm About six weeks ago, I was solicited by Moeller High School for a campaign to replace their 1960s student desks with larger desks to fit the must larger kids attending Moeller today. It might be worth a call to Moeller to inquire regarding the status of the campaign and what the plans for the old desks will be.... Good Luck.
Mon, April 30, 2007 10:18 am My
daughter currently is attending Sts. Peter and I
would like to offer up my time as needed. Please let me know what I can do to
help! I currently work 2 jobs but please don’t let that effect your decision
to ask me for anything at all. With what all of you have accomplished for the
sake of our children I would be hard pressed to act as I do not have time to
aid in any cleaning or fund raising necessary to get the school up and running
in a minimal time frame. My
daughter
and I will be going through her old books this weekend and while it may not be
an extensive amount it will be start for the library. The books will range
from K – 3rd grade reading levels. Please advise when and where
we can donate these. Thank
you again and may God bless each and everyone of the parents that teamed up
and made this possible.
4/29/2007 9:58:49 I just forwarded the website to my brother-in-law in
NY. I think it looks beautiful.
Fri, Apr 27, 2007 12:07 pm Thought
you would want to know I passed this positive information on to the Willig
family! God
bless, Rose
Awesome!!!
God Bless everyone involved!!! Awesome!!! You have truly been blessed with
God’s grace. Thank
you for belief in catholic education at any cost! You
are an inspiration in faith to all, our faith will indeed live on…God bless
and many prayers for your continued success. Love
to all in the spirit of Christ, Tom and Maggie Collett and Family
Thank you for all that you have done and are doing in this effort. What a great letter/report to read. Just beautiful! Jeff L.
Fri, Apr 27, 2007 6:27 am Congrats to all! May the good Lord continue to bless you!
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