Three New Play Structures Coming to St. John's!

Check this out SJ students! 

Here is an updated view of your three new playground structures, which will be built on Build Day this May 29, 2010!  There will be one play structure each for the Kindergarten, Primary and Junior yards. 

These play structures were designed based on the results of your Dotmocracy votes back in December and January. Hats off to you, students, for your great work in designing your play structures! 

Our school yard improvement plans also include new soccer nets, a community garden, outdoor murals, and a fabulous outdoor classroom with a prayer corner and a stage for outdoor theatre.

  

We hope you enjoy hours of play in your new school yard! Here are the photos: 

 

Where to Shop in PERTH, Ontario!

St. John's has been very fortunate to have received monetary donations from about 30 local businesses in Perth, as well as fabulous silent auction donations for our upcoming fundraising dance. It is thanks in part to the generosity of these local companies that St. John's will be able to build a new playground in our school yard on May 29th of this year!

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank these generous businesses for being community leaders and for helping make dreams come true!

We also hope that, in turn, the Perth community and St. John's families, teachers and parishioners, will show their support for these businesses!  

Next time you do your shopping... think about all the fun our school children will have at recess on their new playground! For a great list of places to shop, check out our donor list on the RIGHT!

Local Family "Ups the Stakes" to Help Build St. John's Playground!

Former St. John's Elementary School Teacher, Miss Shirley Kindellan, maintains a strong connection to her former workplace. Miss Kindellan taught at St. John's for many years and is now enjoying retirement, and she continues to be an active member of our parish community. When she heard that St. John's Elementary was raising funds to transform our school yard, she got involved! 

After making her own generous $500 donation to the playground fund, Miss Kindellan challenged her own father, Don Kindellan, to contribute $100 for each great-grandchild who currently attends (or will attend) St. John's. You see, Mr. Kindellan's two great-grandchildren, Ben and Rylin Kilpatrick, are current SJ students. His younger great-grandchildren, Lauren Kilpatrick and Will White, along with Will's younger sibling, who is due this coming August,  will also attend St. John's when they become school age. This makes a total of five great-grandchildren, and thanks to his daughter's challenge, Mr. Kindellan matched his daughter's donation and generously gave $500, which will create a fun recess time for all students at St. John's!

In addition to the Kindellans' big-hearted gifts, other family members including Joan and Robert Harvey and Joe and Jessica Kilpatrick, have also contributed generously to our playground fund. St. John's thanks the charitable actions of the Kindellan-Harvey-Kilpatrick clan!

 Smiling family members from the Kindellan, Kilpatrick and White families!: Teacher Megan White (holding son, William), former St. John's teacher Shirley Kindellan, Rylin Kilpatrick, Playground Committee member Donna Poole and Benjamin Kilpatrick

 

Thank You Home Depot Canada Foundation!

St. John's Catholic Elementary School students are thrilled to announce that the Home Depot Canada Foundation will be donating $5,000 as well as the support of "Team Depot"(the Home Depot's associate volunteer force) to help build our new school playground on BUILD DAY, May 29th! This is the most generous size donation granted to our playground build project, and the kindness of the Home Depot Canada Foundation is truly remarkable!

The Home Depot Canada Foundation was established in 2008 to expand The Home Depot Canada's commitment to giving back to the communities it serves. It is a private, Canadian charitable organization, which brings together volunteerism, do-it-yourself expertise, product donation and monetary grants to meet community needs.

Its mission is "dedicated to using our skills, knowledge and resources to develop sustainable home and communities for Canadians." 

St. John's is fortunate to be able to count on The Home Depot Canada Foundation as well as 10 Home Depot associate volunteers. The volunteers will be available to help build, clean, plant, create, develop, and improve our school yard on our school's BUILD DAY, scheduled for May 29, 2010. 

We thank you Home Depot Canada Foundation for your amazing support and commitment to supporting the development of healthy neighbourhoods!

Local Realtor Makes Big Donation!

Local real estate agent and former St. John's elementary student, Michelle Fournier (nee Lee), has made a generous $500 contribution to our school's playground fund!  Michelle is a Royal Lepage realtor in Perth and has been helping St. John's families sell their homes and buy new ones in the area for a number of years. 

As a St. John's mom now and busy real estate agent, she has been helpful to the Playground Committee offering fundraising ideas and support, and now her financial donation will further assist the students at St. John's in having a recess full of fun, once the playground is built this coming May 29th! Michelle was happy to donate and says, "It's about giving back to my roots and my community." The St. John's community thanks you, Michelle!

Local Perth Businesses & Families Continue to Support St. John's!

This was an exciting week for the students at St. John's Catholic Elementary School! Large donations have been received recently by generous families and businesses in the Perth community, which will help build our playground on May 29th of this year! 

After about six weeks of fundraising, we are thrilled to announce that we are about halfway towards our overall fundraising goal! 

The Perth Community has been amazing in supporting St. John's students!

We pray for continued success as we countdown to May 29 Build Day - only 86 days to go! Our students at St. John's say, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU to the follow donors: 

 

 Photo Courtesy of The Perth Courier

Dr. Karen Mowbray of the Eye Vision Clinic in Perth generously provided a $1,000 donation to St. John's recently to help build a new school yard for our excited students, including, from left: Madison Miernik, Andrew Noonan, James Poole, Carter Bron and Kyle Bron. Playground Committee member, Louise Bron, accepts the cheque from Dr. Mowbray. The Eye Vision Clinic in Perth is owned by Drs. Mowbray, Bain and Zabel, and our students thank you all! 

  

 Photo Courtesy of The Perth Courier

 St. John's Kindergarten teacher and Playground Committee member, Mrs. Melanie O'Neill, is thrilled about the big-hearted contribution from the MacMillan family of Perth. The MacMillan boys, Rory and Thomas, hold the cheque, which will help our school build a new playground on May 29, 2010, while parents Dr. Siobham Muldowney and George MacMillan look on. Thank you MacMillan family!

 

Photo Courtesy of The Perth Courier

St. John Catholic Elementary School principal, Mrs. Terri Brady, gratefully accepted a generous donation to the playground fund from McNamee Plumbing.  Owners Cara and Brad McNamee look on, while their children, Lucy and Carter, hand Mrs. Brady the cheque. A big thank you to the McNamee's!