Small groups wandered through the newly rebuilt St. Anthony School on Saturday, expressing their delight in the transformation.
“Beautiful! Gorgeous!” said Carol Marquardt, a Grace Lutheran Church member interested in the remodeling project.
Grace Lutheran, in Oconto Falls, opened its doors to St. Anthony’s students after the school was damaged by an arson fire in February 2011. That generosity allowed the school to continue with classes after only a brief interruption.
“We were glad to help the school. I was very proud that we helped,” Marquardt said.
The remodeling work also impressed those closely associated with the school.
“I think some people are going to realize how much the school means to everyone involved,” said Trisha Blaser, a 2002 St. Anthony graduate who attended the open house with her family.
“This just shows the commitment,” said Trisha’s dad, Roger, who was part of the last eighth-grade class to graduate from the school.
“All of our kids went here,” he said.
“It’s like an extended part of our family,” said his wife, Karen.
“We’re hoping more people can discover what a great treasure we have here,” said St. Anthony’s pastor, the Rev. Joel Sember.
The rebuilt Catholic elementary school has been modernized and now has an elevator to access all three levels of the building.
Six new classrooms are smaller than the original ones, to allow space for a computer room and library on the main level.
The upper level has spacious rooms for meetings and religious education classes, as well as a lounge area for less formal gatherings.
The lower level contains the school cafeteria and the kitchen.
Sember said the renovations affect not only the school, but also other aspects of parish life.
“A lot of people forget that it isn’t just a school. The parish office is part of it. The cafeteria is also the parish hall,” he said.
The rebuilt facility will allow the church to provide more services to people previously unable to use church resources, he said.
The school year begins Sept. 3.
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