After nearly six months of work, the second phase of construction at the Neponset campus of Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy was completed last month.  The Academy held a dedication ceremony last Thursday night to celebrate the finished project, which added new classrooms above the school’s gymnasum.

Last Thursday’s dedication ceremony event was hosted by Principal Kate Brandley on behalf of the Academy’s regional director, Russ W. Wilson and included a prayer from Bishop Robert Hennessey and St. Ann’s pastor Rev. Sean Connors.

During the construction, students in the school’s fourth through eighth grades were relocated to temporary space in the former Aquinas Junior College building on Adams Street in Milton. With the Neponset building now finished, those students have since been able to move back into the building.

The new expansion consists of four new classrooms and a multi-purpose art room. These rooms have been outfitted with state-of-the art technology, including a science lab that mimics the feel of a high school experience, said Brandley.

Thursday’s ceremony was attended by local politicians, members of the clergy, staff, St. Ann parishioners, as well students, families and friends of the Academy.  The celebration included a welcome prayer, selections performed by members of the Pope John II Academy’s theater company, a ribbon cutting by two students and a blessing of the gymnasium and new wing from Bishop Robert Hennessey.   
Thursday night also provided an opportunity for Brandley to thank all those who had been involved in bringing the project to its successful completion.  

“I am most grateful for the cooperation of our politicians, civic leaders, the Catholic Church, the Catholic School Offices, and the Campaign for Catholic Schools that made it happen,” said Brandley.

Newly-minted city councilor Frank Baker was also in attendance and was impressed by the excitement of the students, who gave him a tour of the new wing.  

“We see so much in the way of bad press [about schools] and school closings,” Baker said. “Now we have a school that’s been invested in, it’s in the middle of the neighborhood…it’s quite an impressive space,” said Baker.

“I think they [students] were excited to show their parents where they’re going to school now,” added Baker.