THE SHAMROCK St. Patrick’s Alumni Association Newsletter Spring/Summer, 2024
PROGRESS CONTINUES! A new kitchen facility is coming soon to St. Patrick’s High School. The final phase of the NOW is the Time campaign broke ground just after school was dismissed for the summer. The new kitchen will sit just east of the St. Pat’s cafeteria, and will provide much-needed space and updated equipment for our school lunch program and the many other events that utilize the kitchen. This final piece of the campaign has been a long time in the making, and the NPCS Endowment is extremely grateful to the donors who have contributed to the project, and waited patiently for its completion. Some unexpected hiccups in the planning and supply chain process resulted in delays… But the Endowment Board and planning team are confident the end result will be worth the wait, and will be a facility that will serve our students and lunch program for generations to come. Construction is currently underway, with an expected completion date of December, 2024. Because the kitchen is new construction, its progress will not disrupt the school year when students return in August. The kitchen will connect to the east side of the cafeteria, with the serving window on the east wall. The existing/original kitchen space will be converted to much-needed storage for the high school. Since it launched in December of 2019, the following projects have been completed through the NOW is the Time campaign: *Two new sets of restrooms at St. Patrick’s High School (main hallway restrooms, and junior high end) *New girls’ locker rooms at St. Pat’s *New hallway flooring and lighting at St. Pat’s *New cafeteria lighting at St. Pat’s *Roof repairs at McDaid Elementary
The end of school year 2024 was also capped by placing the finishing touches on the new parking lot at St. Pat’s High School. This project was the result of donations to North Platte Giving Day 2023, and was completed last fall. This spring, a team of school students and volunteers (led by Dan Phelps ‘98) laid the final pieces of sod around the edges of the new lot.
The Endowment is also happy to report that North Platte Giving Day 2024 was a huge success, resulting in the purchase of a new school bus and a new school van. Led by the generosity of Dan Keenan (‘77), many alumni and supporters helped the Endowment reach a goal that will make transportation safer and more efficient for all of our students. The new van has already been purchased, and the bus is expected to arrive in the fall of 2024. If you are wondering what is next… The NPCS Endowment Board is already hard at work preparing for the next campaign to address pressing needs and some lofty goals for our school system. At the top of the priority list is addressing faculty salaries so that NPCS can remain competitive when it comes to recruiting and retaining teachers. Also on the wish list are updates to the boys’ locker room facilities at St. Pat’s, as well as flooring, lighting, and other upkeep needs at McDaid Elementary. We ask that you please keep our school and its leaders in your prayers!