BY KATHI STEARNS

“Why would anyone build a school in the South without air conditioning?” was the question Father Daniel O’Connor, pastor of St. Jude the Apostle Church, Sandy Springs, constantly pondered.

The answer was simple. In 1960 when the school was built, no schools in Georgia were air-conditioned.

But in 1991 as parishioners combated the unyielding heat with fans that read “Let’s cool our school,” Father O’Connor knew it was time to begin a three-year capital funds campaign to raise the $1.5 million necessary to improve the 30-year-old parish plant.

On Sept. 4 that vision was realized as Archbishop John F. Donoghue celebrated Mass and dedicated the parish center as the Msgr. Stapleton Center to honor the first pastor of St. Jude the Apostle Parish.

“Father O’Connor wanted this to be a place for everyone. He wanted the building to meet the needs of today’s congregation just as well as it had served parishioners in the past,” said Ronnie Kessenich, the director of development.

St. Jude the Apostle was established Oct. 1, 1960. Mass was offered at Guy Webb School and Sandy Springs High until the church could be completed. The original building was designed by Albert O. Ordway and was constructed by Anthony B. Higgins, Inc. The first Mass was celebrated in the church May 6, 1962.

The school opened Sept. 4, 1962 with a kindergarten and four grades staffed by lay teachers. The Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart of Philadelphia staffed the school the following year. Today the school has 501 students and provides kindergarten through eighth grade.

“Father O’Connor planned the renovation project carefully so that the resulting changes would be appropriate and lasting,” said Barbara Poole, St. Jude’s principal.

The plan called for the air conditioning of the school building, rest room and church basement renovations and handicapped/elderly access to the parish center. In addition, a 6,383 square-foot annex to the education building will include an accredited library, computer lab and an equipment storage room.

Under the direction of Eleanor Crockett and Mrs. Kessenich a campaign entitled “Facing Challenges and Pursuing Opportunities” was implemented. The co-chairs of the capital campaign were Robert L. and Mary Byrne Callahan and Steve and Janice Kerr.

Renovations at the parish center include alterations to the room which functions as a reception facility for social events and weddings as well as three meeting rooms, a warming kitchen and a bride’s room. The parish center has also been made accessible to handicapped and elderly persons through a lift and an enclosed stairwell.

The Spalding Entrance Pavilion is aptly named since the land upon which the parish is situated is part of the old Spalding farm. The land was donated to Bishop Francis Hyland in 1961 by the families of Hughes Spalding, Sr., Jack J. Spalding, Jr., and Suzanne Spalding Schroder for the establishment of a new parish. The family had a strong devotion to the patron saint of “hopeless cases” and requested that the parish be named St. Jude the Apostle.

The construction and renovations were completed by Jerry Deckbar of Deckbar and McCormack who for planning and financial reasons divided the work into three phases.

The project has not been without difficulties. In May of 1992 the students were dismissed one week early and began the following year two weeks late so that renovations could begin.

Students made up all the missed days with a shortened Christmas vacation, the loss of some school holidays and an additional week of school in June.

“We had very few three-day weekends that year,” said Mrs. Poole. “This was something you would think that children would take for granted. But they didn’t. It was so exciting to see their eyes light up when they saw all the changes that were made for their benefit.”

“Everything was so exciting that we didn’t mind the inconveniences,” Mrs. Poole said. “We knew the results were going to be positive and that we were headed in the direction we needed to be going.”

The only work remaining is the addition of the library and science laboratories which is expected to begin next summer. Mrs. Poole believes that her students will benefit from the library which will have 10 computer stations to assist students conducting research. A network will be established between the computer center and the library so that information can be transferred between the stations.

“Computer skills are becoming one of the more important tools a student today needs. They truly have become an educational necessity,” Mrs. Poole said.

The school committee, a sub-committee of the parish Board of Education at St. Jude the Apostle, has established a technology committee to evaluate and determine the most effective way for the school to stay current with the changes in technology.