Cross-curricular project revitalizes St. Edmond courtyard

 

            One can never have too many saints looking out for them in his or her life. Students at St. Edmond’s Catholic School in Fort Dodge have another heavenly friend to guide them as a new statue of St. John Bosco was dedicated in the school courtyard this week.

 

            The life-size, bronze statue was blessed by Father Jake Rosenmeyer, school chaplain and Holy Trinity Parish parochial vicar, as students prayed along and learned a bit more about this saint who is a patron of both youth and educators.

 

            “For teachers, St. John Bosco offers a lesson on teaching the charism of love and concern,” Father Rosenmeyer said. “For students, he shows a passion for the faith. To have a Catholic education is a huge gift for the students here.”

 

            It was the St. Edmond’s Class of 2028 that led the effort to revitalize and place a statue in what had been a little-used courtyard, according to teacher Joan Shannon.

 

            “There was no life out there,” Shannon said of how the courtyard looked just a few years ago. “I have to bring life to spaces.”

 

            The Class of 2028 was then in the eighth grade when revitalizing the courtyard became a collaborative project across the curriculum. Science classes researched plants that would do well in the space. In religion classes, students researched saints that would be good patrons, while English teachers had the students write papers about the saints and how they had served God and man.

 

            Jack Webster, now a sophomore, was one of the students highly involved in the project.

 

            “I liked learning the history and more about the lives of saints,” Webster said. “St. John Bosco was very interested in giving to the poor.”

 

            Charlie Stucky is another sophomore who has been with the project since the eighth grade.

 

            “I had fun working with my classmates on the project,” she said. “We learned about a lot of saints.”

 Father Jake Rosenmeyer, chaplain, prepares for the blessing of the St. John Bosco statue at St. Edmond School this week.             They also enjoyed the prospect of being able to spend time outside, digging in the dirt and eventually studying or just chatting with other students in the new courtyard.

 

            The process of clearing out dead foliage and bringing in new soil and plants has been a work in progress the last few years. Shannon indicated that even more plants and different features, hopefully including a water feature, are planned for the future. The variety of perennial flowers and bushes are designed to attract songbirds to the space.

 

            As landscaping work continued, teachers and students alike agreed that a statue would be a great focal point for the courtyard. Students voted to narrow the list of saints to three for a prospective statue. It was at that point that students were asked to make presentations on the saints they had been studying, first to school administration, and then to guests at the annual Friends of St. Edmond Ball.

 

            “That was really good for me, because it took me out of my comfort zone,” Stucky said. “It was really scary,” she said of getting up in front of the crowd at the ball to talk about St. John Bosco.

 

            Ball-goers were apparently more than impressed, as they contributed approximately $42,000 — far more than ever expected. And that was on top of all the other funds raised at the event. The donations were used to fund the statue, with a significant portion set aside for additional landscaping and improvements.

 

            “I’ve seen monarch butterflies in there, dragonflies, even a few grasshoppers,” Shannon said of the spruced-up courtyard.

 

            Students are allowed access to the courtyard at lunch and during certain study times. Teachers also anticipate finding new ways to take kids to the courtyard for class or independent study. In a world filled with screen time, a little nature time is popular for both students and teachers alike.

 

            A granite base and engraved plaque that give the statue a proper home was donated by Kallin-Johnson Monuments of Fort Dodge. Many classes give a gift to the school years down the road at a reunion, but the Class of 2028 is already honored for its contributions on the accompanying plaque. One can almost imagine how other classes might be inspired to make a gift themselves when they see what these young students have done.

 

Berglund is a freelance writer based in Dayton. She is a member of Holy Trinity Parish of Webster County.

Cover photo: Sophomore Jack Webster and Charlie Stucky with Father Jake Rosenmeyer at the dedication of the new St. John Bosco statue in the St. Edmond School courtyard in Fort Dodge.