Well into our second year of operations this school year, we are celebrating the addition of a renovated, updated science lab!
Patrick McKeown, headmaster, explains the process that was undertaken to prepare the new facility for this year’s sophomores in their biology year of the science curriculum: “We began gathering science equipment from Holy Family College [in Manitowoc] in the spring of 2021.” The institution was closing its doors and liquidating materials were perfect for the future lab at the new Chesterton Academy. They purchased many items through the generosity of the Cherney family, the main investors for the lab. “After the liquidation was over, [the college] called us and asked if we would be interested in 10 lab tables and even more equipment.”
With the needed equipment procured, the construction phase of the science lab project got underway. Mr. McKeown says, “This summer, we went through an extensive renovation in order to convert a 1950s classroom into a high-functioning science laboratory. This included: A new ceiling, new LED lights, new electrical, two new wash stations, new flooring, new cabinetry, a new teacher workstation, five new windows, commercial refrigeration and more.”
The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity are a group of Franciscan nuns that have been part of Wisconsin and Green Bay education for centuries. St. John Paul II and Chesterton Academy are located in Green Bay at 320 Victoria St., the former site of a Franciscan grade school and the current home of the St. Philip the Apostle Parish.
Mr. McKeown proudly concludes, “It is only right that some of that tradition and material returns back to the once thriving powerhouse of the East side.”
