Students who attend the Neponset campus of Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy will start their academic year a few days late— on Monday, Sept. 12— and many will spend the next four months in temporary classrooms in Milton due to delays in a construction project at the Neponset Ave. school. The school is adding a floor to the old St. Ann School building as part of an ongoing modernization project.

In a letter sent to parents this week, school officials said that earlier plans to create temporary spaces for middle school classes on the Neponset campus were not “acceptable.” Instead, the school will house grades 4-8 at the former Aquinas Junior College building on Adams Street. Parents have the option of either dropping their children off at the Milton “annex” or utilizing a school bus that will shuttle students to and from Neponset Ave. each day.

“This option meets all of the academic, spiritual, emotional, social, and physical needs of our fourth through eighth grade students, and is located only 3 miles from our Neponset campus. We believe our students will flourish in this environment,” said Kate Brandley, principal, and Russ W. Wilson, regional director, in the letter.

The school planned a parent meeting for last evening in the St. Ann Church Hall to discuss the plans.