Officials from Oakland County and the City of Pontiac were on hand today as Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy celebrated and blessed the ongoing construction of its new lower division school building. School president Fr. Leon Olszamowski, s.m., welcomed Sam Scott, community relations specialist from the Pontiac mayoral office, Joe Sobota, director, Pontiac Department of Community Development and Captain Timothy Atkins, representing Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, among others to the ceremony held on the grounds of the new building.
School vice president Andy Guest told those in attendance that the combined parcels of land and buildings will 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. "Construction and renovation work is scheduled to be completed by the end of July," he said, "and our first day of school is planned for August 22, 2013.
During the blessing of the new construction, Olszamowski also thanked a number of benefactors and friends of the school, including former board chair Bill Kozyra, current board member Pat D'Agostini and current board chair Daron Gifford for their extraordinary generosity of time, talent and treasure toward the school project, which is estimated to cost nearly $3.5 million.
The school building is expected to open for junior-kindergarten through fifth-grade classes in time for the new school year in late August.
About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.