As the following pages show, since 1994 our community has invested in the following facility improvements:

• Media Center
• Additional Classrooms
• STARS Classrooms
• Fine Arts Center
• Athletic and Activity Center (Bubble Gym)
• Guidance Center
• New Stadium and Track
• New Wrestling Room & Training Room
• Chapel
• Administration Wing
• New Family Room/Gym

Revised Project Costs

When the On This Rock: Building Faith and Family campaign began in the Spring of 2016, professionally prepared estimates of construction costs were obtained from our architects and construction management firm. As the time draws near for breaking ground on the new gymnasium and other projects, the bids from our contractors have significantly increased. This is a national trend that has resulted from recent hurricanes, wildfires, and the extraordinary demands for construction services combined with a severe labor shortage in the construction trades. The costs for our projects have increased above the $6.5M originally anticipated. We still need your support!

We believe that all of the proposed projects are needed and vital to the growth of our school and community. Thank you in advance for your support of this campaign!

We are counting on the continued support of our community to reach our ambitious, yet attainable, goal. With the help of past and current parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends, we can ensure a bright future for all in the Roncalli family.

New Family Room/Gymnasium:

$4,500,000

Our family no longer fits in our family room!

As the primary space for our Roncalli family to gather, crowding for school events and athletic competitions continues to be an issue and creates safety concerns. We turn away hundreds from events such as Grandparents’ Day and sold out basketball games. Due to capacity issues, our Roncalli family participation is limited for events such as Rebelation, Circle of Faith Fund Dinner, Senior Mass, Baccalaureate, and Graduation.

We have a Class 4A school enrollment with a Class 2A gymnasium capacity and currently are the only Class 4A school in the state without a second competition gym. More importantly, our current facility presents issues such as late evening practices, overcrowding leading to security and safety issues, and inaccessibility for all people attending events. Our student enrollment exceeds the 1,100 seat capacity in the bleachers. Simply stated, our family no longer fits in our family room.

To meet the needs of a growing student population, Roncalli plans to construct a new, 22,000 square foot multipurpose gymnasium connected to the current gym. The new facility will include seating for 2,164, as well as additional boys and girls locker rooms. It will enhance our physical education programs, allow us to host IHSAA tournament events, and serve as a multipurpose meeting place large enough to accommodate our entire student, faculty, and parent populations. The new facility will also allow for improved access and practice times for our extracurricular activities and provide a safer environment for students, faculty, and guests. The entire Roncalli community along with the parishioners of the South Deanery will benefit from the new facility.

Additional Classroom and Fine Arts Space:

$1,600,000

The education of our students remains our top priority. Our 2017 enrollment is 1,177 students. Projections suggest this number will increase in the next two to three years, creating additional strain on our facilities. Best practices in teaching today include maximizing instructional time, meaning students are on task as the bell rings, and best practices also include efficient, effective use of technology as a teaching and learning tool. Both of these best practices are severely hampered when teachers, along with all of their teaching materials, must move from room to room throughout the school day.

With the addition of six classrooms, we can accomplish a long standing strategic plan initiative of providing each full time teacher with his or her own classroom.

Since the opening of the Fine Arts Center, we have seen explosive growth in the size and caliber of our own Fine Arts programs, as well as in those of our South Deanery schools. This has resulted in year round use of the facility and the need for additional storage.

Kitchen and Cafeteria Expansion and Gymnasium Renovation:

$750,000

The kitchen was designed to prepare and serve food for 750 people. At present, we are serving nearly 300 students, teachers and staff every 22 minutes during lunch periods. Given the current cafeteria and kitchen space, our kitchen staff is struggling to accommodate our current enrollment, much less the projected increased enrollment. Expanding the kitchen area and increasing cafeteria seating capacity will allow Roncalli to continue providing nourishing meals to our students and faculty every day. To accomplish this, the athletic offices, currently housed in the cafeteria, will move into the current gym area. To create the office space in the gym, bleachers will be removed from one side of the gym. The current gym will continue to function as a home for athletic competitions, Physical Education classes, and other events.

Fitness Center and Auxiliary Gymnasium Renovation:

$800,000

Safety and security are always of utmost importance at Roncalli. The new fitness center will have increased security and safety, with an increased opportunity for growth in adding new equipment and programs for all students, faculty, and staff. Constructing a new fitness center will make available much needed space in the auxiliary gym. Batting cages for our baseball and softball teams are just one example of how we will utilize this space.

Additional Parking and Property Acquisition:

$500,000

Providing safe and sufficient parking for our students, staff, faculty, and visitors is a priority. The need for additional parking will increase with the construction of a new family room/gymnasium. To create additional parking and control traffic flow, we plan to purchase property adjacent to the school and to add a roundabout in the back of the school.

Student Commons:

$100,000

The student commons area will be a multipurpose room with access to advanced technology that will serve the entire student body. The area will provide a welcoming environment and flexible learning space for students. It will be transformed into an area prime for socialization, large group meetings, as well as for individual and small group work. As an integral part of the student learning experience, the commons area will truly be a student-oriented space for learning, relaxation, and socializing.

Increase Facility Maintenance Endowment Funds:

$700,000

Income from Roncalli’s endowment is key to ensuring that we fulfill our mission today and into the future. Just as investing in structural additions and renovations is vitally important to our future, it is equally important to invest in their maintenance and upkeep. Bolstering our facility maintenance endowment, per Archdiocesan policy, will provide the income necessary to support the operational expenses of our facilities, such as general maintenance, janitorial essentials, and future repairs and replacements.

Campaign Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

We praise you and we thank you for all the blessings we have received from you for our faith and for the faith of the Roncalli Family. With your blessing we have accomplished much in the last 20 years of our journey – the Sacred Heart Chapel, the Fine Arts Center, over 30 new classrooms, the STARS Resource Center, our Stadium, Track, and Media Center. How good God has been to us.

Now we humbly ask for continued blessings on Roncalli’s growing family – a new Family Room, a Kitchen and Cafeteria expansion for hungry students, and additional Classrooms for excellence in learning.

We borrow our prayer from friends. Dear God, open our ears to hear your word. Open our eyes to see the need around us. Open our minds to know your will. Open our hearts in generosity.

St. John Roncalli we ask for your intercession to plead our case before God and our many friends in Heaven. Amen.

Composed by
Archbishop Emeritus
Daniel M. Buechlein, OSB