By Rita McInerney

A new elementary school, the first in the archdiocese in 25 years, will open its doors when Catholic schools reopen on Monday, Aug. 25.

The new facility, St. John Neumann Regional Catholic School in Lilburn, will serve families from Prince of Peace, Buford; St. Patrick’s, Norcross; St. John Neumann, Lilburn; St. Lawrence, Lawrenceville; St. Oliver Plunkett, Snellville; Corpus Christi, Stone Mountain; St. Pius X, Conyers; Christ our Hope, Lithonia, and from Walton and Barrow counties.

The new school is located in a recently constructed education building upgraded at a cost of $446,000. On Sept. 5, Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan will officiate at a groundbreaking for a new building estimated to cost $3 million. The structure will include classrooms, library, gym, cafeteria and offices. Before the groundbreaking, the archbishop will celebrate the first Mass of the Holy Spirit for the children, their parents and all parishioners.

Sister Dawn Gear, G.N.S.H., is first principal of the new regional school. She has 23 years experience in education, 16 of those years in elementary schools. She served at Christ the King School and St. Pius X High School where she taught religion and was assistant dean of students.

In bringing quality education to the rapidly growing Catholic population in Gwinnett County, Sister Dawn says, “I want to create an atmosphere of learning, loving and sharing the gospel values. I would like to take a little bit of the warm spirit from my past experiences, put it here and let it grow.

According to Sister Roberta Schmidt, C.S.J, superintendent of schools for the archdiocese, there are about 160 children enrolled in the new school which is opening with kindergarten through fifth grade. A grade will be added each year until the full K-8 is completed.

Enrollment is lower than what was expected initially, Sister Schmidt said. She attributed this in part to reluctance by some parents to add a second carpooling commitment when their older children attend another Catholic school. In such cases many are keeping the younger children in the same school. The impact of the new regional school, she added, has not been as severe on Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Thomas More schools as was anticipated.

Another factor, she said, is the strong middle school reputation in Gwinnett County. Parents have questioned Sister Gear extensively about whether the new regional school will offer programs available in the public schools. So, while the quality of education at St. John Neumann Regional will be of high standard, it remains a matter of proving it to many parents.

Tuition at the new school, Sister Schmidt said, is $1,250 for a Catholic child. An additional $650.00 is being paid by the pastor of the parish to which the family belongs. Tuition for a non-Catholic student is $2,000.

Focus at the 14 grade schools, The Village of St. Joseph and at St. Pius X in the coming year will be on the religion curriculum, Sister Joan McCann, O.P., said. A workshop is scheduled for Oct. 8 when Sister Maria Joseph Walsh, C.S.J., of the Kansas City, Mo., diocesan office, will discuss spiritual development for faculty members.

An in-service meeting for school principals and administrators was held August 14 at the Catholic Center. The topic was “AIDS, Facts and Guidelines,” with Dr. James Quayle, family practitioner and member of St. Thomas Aquinas parish as speaker. The Office of Catholic Schools and the Office of Religious Education has developed a set of guidelines to help teachers and school administrators deal with the sensitive subject with Christian compassion.

Sister Kathleen Dauses, D.C., is new principal at St. Mary’s School in Rome. From 1965 until 1982 she taught and served as principal at schools in the dioceses of Youngstown, Ohio, and Baltimore, Md. Before coming to Rome she was full-time vocation director for the Daughters of Charity Emmitsburg Province which extends from Maryland to Florida.