SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP —
Jaimie Au turned her head left and right, taking in her first look of St. John School’s new cafeteria and kitchen.
“This is amazing,” she said.
A group of students got a sneak peek at the $1 million addition to what was Saybrook Elementary and is now Ashtabula County’s only kindergarten through 12th grade school. St. John School took ownership of the building from the Ashtabula Area City Schools last year, moved classes from the original Catholic school on Station Avenue, and changed the name from Saints John and Paul to St. John. The building did not have a working cafeteria, so students used the basement space for lunch as money was raised and volunteers stepped forward to build the addition.
“We couldn’t have put more into one year if we tried,” Sister Maureen Burke said.
School administrators will open the new addition to the public Sunday for an open house and celebration, Burke said.
Students will begin using the cafeteria for lunch the second week in April, Burke said.
Burke said the addition would have cost the school $1 million, but much of that cost was mitigated through in-kind donations of building materials and contractor services and volunteer workers. The addition includes the eating area, food preparation and service area, and will eventually include an outdoor courtyard.
“A lot of the work here was done by volunteers, friends and family members,” Burke said. “If we were to build this, out of pocket, it would have cost more than $1 million.”
Burke said the school board considered using the gymnasium as a cafeteria and also considered renovating the school’s basement before deciding to build the 5,000-square-foot addition.
The board broke ground for the space in September and will host the open house exactly one year from the day they announced the school’s move to the Saybrook Township building.
Student Alicia Lewis said the new space is “way nicer” than eating in the basement.
“This really exceeds our expectations,” student Mike Zullo said.
Au said it means a lot to her to have a real cafeteria to close out her senior year.
“This looks like a real high school now,” she said. “Moving from the old building to the new one, this just didn’t feel like our school before.”
The open house will begin with a ribbon cutting by the Ashtabula Area Chamber of Commerce at 2 p.m. and will include a walk-through of the new space and refreshments until 4 p.m.
Local News
Related Photos
-
MARGIE NETZEL / Star Beacon ST. JOHN SCHOOL students (from front, left) Elizabeth Kovacs, Jaimie Au, Brenna Powers, and Benjamin Czuchra with (from front, right) Alexandra Ferrante, Maria Kovacs, Alicia Lewis and Tristan Kile, and (standing, from left) Josh Williams, Mike Mahoney, Mason Rought and Mike Zullo, take a look at their new cafeteria. The school will host a public open house on Sunday. Margie Netzel
Discussion
Million dollar cafeteria
St. John to open new addition Sunday
- Local News
-
-
GOTL gets ‘likeable’ on Facebook
Village police officers are taking a new approach to an old problem — finding wanted criminals.
-
New facility in Ashtabula Plaza offers digital X-rays, ultrasounds
People needed an X-ray need not look far, thanks to University Hospitals’ new, state-of-the-art imaging facility at UH Ashtabula Health Center, 2131 Lake Ave., in the Ashtabula Plaza.
-
Stretch of Rt. 193 open, another to close
A section of Route 193 in Sheffield and Kingsville townships closed for repairs has reopened, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District Four office in Akron.
-
Ashtabula Brass Band presents free concert tonight
The Ashtabula Brass Band will present a free spring concert at 7 tonight in the auditorium at Kent State University Ashtabula.
-
Physicals today for Lakeside student-athletes
Any Lakeside High School or Lakeside Junior High School student-athletes who needs a physical can get one today during school hours.
-
Woman charged after stabbing boyfriend in arm
A Cherry Valley woman is being charged with felonious assault and domestic violence after allegedly stabbing her boyfriend Sunday night.
-
City to host Tire Amnesty Day June 1
The city will host Tire Amnesty Day on June 1 to help residents get rid of scrap tires, City Manager Jim Timonere said at Monday’s City Council meeting.
-
Final count begins for special election
The official outcome of the May 7 special election should be known by the end of the week.
-
White Turkey moving on without its beloved owner
Mother’s Day weekend saw the White Turkey Drive-In in Conneaut launch its 61st year in business, but nobody connected with the curbside restaurant felt like celebrating.
-
Bob Evans employee may face fraud charges
A Bob Evans employee could be facing fraud charges after allegedly engaging in a scheme to defraud customers through unauthorized use of their credit cards.
- More Local News Headlines
-
GOTL gets ‘likeable’ on Facebook
