Notre Dame’s new lower-division building enabled junior-kindergarten through fifth-grade students to move onto the same campus as the school’s other two divisions.
Location, location, location. When planning a move, most real estate agents will tell you that location is the most important thing to consider. Well, when Notre Dame’s administration and its Board of Trustees were contemplating a possible move of the lower division from Waterford, the number one criterion they cited was that it should be located on or near the school’s main campus on Giddings Road, in Pontiac.
That is exactly where Notre Dame Marist Academy’s lower division now is located. On August 22, 167 students in junior kindergarten through fifth grade started the first full day of a new school year in a brand new 12-classroom building literally a stone’s throw from the main campus.
Lower division principal Diana Atkins couldn’t contain her excitement a few weeks ago as she prepared for the new year. “The new building is truly breathtaking! As I walk around, I am in awe and completely pleased with the project,” she said. “I cannot wait for the students to come to school and see what their reaction is.”
It was on Jan. 3, 2012, that Notre Dame’s head of school Fr. Leon Olszamowski, s.m., announced that the school’s trustees approved plans to move the division to a new location. He said at the time that bringing all three divisions together would fulfill a long-time goal. “Our school was meant to be one school with three divisions, but that hasn’t necessarily been the case due to the distance,” he said.
TEN YEARS IN WATERFORD
When the lower division first opened for students in 2003, it was located in Waterford, about five miles from Notre Dame’s middle and upper division. “Though the lower division has done well on its own, it is seen as part of a larger community,” Olszamowski said. “But it was tough when family members, parents, teachers and students only saw each other once in awhile. We believe strongly that, being located nearly next door, we are filling this gap so that the younger students can see our great role-model students more often, where all teachers can work together more regularly, and parents can get to know each other better, ultimately learning what it’s like to be in the middle and upper divisions.”
Principal Atkins sees even more advantages to the move. “The move to Pontiac will allow us to expand our program,” she said. “Teachers from the three divisions will have the ability to collaborate more on the articulation of our programs, which is vital as we continue to advance our International Baccalaureate program in all three divisions. Additionally it will allow students from the upper and middle division to build relationships with the lower division students, a much easier task now since we are a five-minute walk away versus a five-mile drive.”
Notre Dame third-grade teacher Bob Patterson agrees. He cites as a good example the occasional visits of varsity football players to the lower division to interact with and read to the younger students. “The kids love when Coach Zimm sends his players a few times during the school year to read and lead activities with the kids. Their close proximity will allow for these types of things to happen more often. It also will be convenient during all-school Mass days and for families with kids in multiple divisions. This building is a major-league addition to the ND campus and Giddings Road.”
Taken together, the combined parcels of land and buildings give the new school approximately 2.75 acres of property and provide nearly 20,000 sq. ft. of classroom, gathering, play, interactive learning and administrative space to support a student population of between 150 and 175 students, along with 26 faculty, staff and administrators. Both the exterior and interior of the new school were modeled after Notre Dame’s two other divisions. When Patterson walked in the new building as it was being finished, he says he was very impressed with how well done and put together everything was. “I appreciate how the design was modeled after the main campus with landscaping, flooring, lockers and other details. Just awesome!”
HARD WORK AND GENEROSITY
School officials say that this new building and move from Waterford would not have been possible without the hard work and generosity of many in the Notre Dame community.
“I would like to thank the Board of Trustees for their support in moving the lower division to Pontiac,” Atkins said. “And I would like to thank the many people—from our generous donors to the contractors and builders—who have helped with this project. I truly am grateful for the wonderful job they did. I know the building will be well-loved by all those who enter.”
Atkins notes that parents also are excited about the new facility. “I recently met with a new family looking at the school and they were amazed,” she said. “They also were amazed at how quickly it was built.”
A dedication ceremony and Mass were held Sunday, August 18, to bless the new building. The school also will be open for tours during Notre Dame’s upcoming Grand Anniversary Celebration, which will be held on October 19-20. See back page for more information.