Memories like birds, fleeting--one must grasp and hold in heart's hand.
The time came for the
groundbreaking itself, originally thought to be problematic if it rained. As predicted, May 5th began with
hard rain which was still falling when the time for our big celebration was to
begin, but this did not stop us. The
whole celebration was held in the gym instead of the soccer field—the planned
site.
After all the usual formalities were honored, i.e.
introductions and speeches, the MC, Ms. Lisa Cooney calmly and deftly moved the
program on to the May Crowning with the statue of Mary close to the stage. Our senior Katie Schawe, after scooting past
the bishop (the sage was pretty crowded) placed the crown on the Mary’s head. This was accompanied by the Panda Tones
singing of Gounod’s Ave Maria. Katie would read her lovely speech that
earned her the honor of crowning Mary at the final Mass of the year a week
later.
Next came the ceremony of groundbreaking. Tim Moeller, our maintenance man, solved the
problem of the earth turning indoors by spreading a turf rug near the platform,
putting a substantial heap of dirt on it, standing the necessary number of gold
spades on the heap, and crowning the spades with yellow construction hardhats. This made the groundbreaking remarkably easy
for the four groups who turned the earth there, and just as easy for all of us
in the audience (on the floor and in the bleachers) to feel a part of the
occasion. The applause after each designated
group had its turn at the spades was enthusiastic, especially after the Student
Council members had theirs. The four
digs were accomplished thusly: 1) Bishop Foys, Sr. M. Ethel, SND Provincial
Superior, the clergy and other special guests; 2) the Board of Directors and a
few more special guests; 3) the academic department chairs along with
supporting staff; 4) members of the Student Council with their moderator and
Lori Alcantara representing the Panda Parent Club.
The school has broken ground several times over the years--July
1875, April 16, 1961, May 19, 1995, May 5, 2008, and most recently on May 5, 2017. Who knows was wonders the next one will
bring!?
Unfortunately, we have none for July of 1875, but here's one from 1961:
and the one from 2017:
