OCHS Phonathon
How is Phonathon Money Used?
Phonathon donors support three critical areas of need at Catholic High. The dollars are invested in tuition assistance, capital or academic needs, and the high school endowment. Of course, some contributions come with restrictions, which we also honor. Once the contributions made with restrictions are pulled from the totals and expenses are paid, one third of the total income is dedicated to helping students who could not otherwise afford an Owensboro Catholic High School education. Need is based on an application to the Private School Aid Service in Westlake, Ohio.
Then another third is devoted to capital and other academic needs not funded by the budget. This part of your generous contributions has allowed Catholic High to remain academically competitive in the face of continually tighter budgets. This portion of the Phonathon income has allowed us to do many things at the high school that would not have otherwise happened, from air conditioning the two gyms and cafeteria, to new buses and vans, to new and secure outside doors, to building a new library-media center. And in addition to even that, it has especially helped us continue to be competitive in the area of computers and other technology throughout the school, year-in and year-out. This third of the money is the part we plan to save toward the remodeling of Soenneker Hall. And we anticipate being able to save enough money within a couple or three years to be able to complete the project.
And the final third of the Phonathon income is devoted to the high school endowment. And that endowment has grown to the point that it has allowed us to implement a competitive pay scale for coaches and extra-curricular sponsors.
Phonathon is critical to the success of the mission at Catholic High. Without it, the school, its programs, and its students would suffer. Thank you for what you and your generosity have meant to our programs and our students. We ask that you please help us maintain and even exceed our current level.
Phonathon 2008 Project
When Catholic High opened in the fall of 1951, it consisted of what we now call the large gym and the Parrish Avenue wing. The student cafeteria was in what is now Soenneker Hall. The sisters cooked in what is now the maintenance shop.
The Hermitage wing was added a couple of years later. Then when the back wing was added in the mid-sixties, the kitchen and student cafeteria were moved to the new, back wing. The old cafeteria became a student locker room.
Then in 1981, Principal Fr. Ed Bradley and Drama Teacher and Coach Mary Hilda McFarland raised the money necessary to convert the old cafeteria-locker room into an auditorium-theatre and named it Soenneker Hall, after Bishop Soenneker.
At the time, it was decided that moving the steel posts from down the middle of the room and right in front of the new stage was cost-prohibitive. So since that day, audiences have had to sway side-to-side during performances.
Soenneker has gone through a major remodeling once since its building, but we have never felt we could afford to do what it would take to remove those posts. Some of the remodeling has been piece-meal so could stand to be further improved. Some of Soenneker needs addressing for the first time, for example, the seats all need to be replaced.
But probably our greatest hope is that we can afford the steel support beams necessary to replace those posts. We have met with a contractor to discuss that possibility, but we have yet to meet with an engineer or architect—but plan to do so. We hope that our proposed plan is feasible both financially and practically.
I hope that it has always been clear in my time as Principal at Catholic High that I have spent our resources where improvement was most urgent and would do the most good for our school and students.
And that is where I think we are now with Soenneker Hall. Every year, approximately 70 or so students are involved in two productions there. This would mean the world to those students.
But the impact of such improvement in the facility would be far more reaching than even that. Not only do probably 300-400 parents and outside visitors attend those dramatic productions every year, but many prospective parents and outsiders are in the room yearly for parent information sessions, meetings, and other presentations. It is one of the places in the building that visitors most frequently see. Improving Soenneker Hall would have a big impact.
There certainly are always plenty of things that need to be done to improve and keep up the building, but at this point, I think this is the part of the school that most needs it, the part that would make the biggest impact on what parents, prospective parents, and visitors see and think of us.
Though we have not done all the work we need to do to get a good idea of the cost and feasibility of our proposed plan, I do have hope that with your help we can save enough Phonathon capital improvement money over the next couple or three years to do this. You will hear more from us as the campaign and the effort proceed.
As always, thanks for all you and your support have meant to us over the years. I ask you to continue that support and help us to continue to improve our school and its facilities. And as we pray for you and all the members of the Catholic High family every morning, I ask your prayers for us and our efforts to educate our children for a productive, meaningful, and Christ-centered life after high school and beyond.