When Advancement Board president, Will Hemsworth, inquired at the October meeting as to the status of the Database Updating initiative, he and his fellow board members were more than pleasantly surprised to learn that the response rate was higher than anticipated.  "Throughout my years on the Advancement Board," said Will, "we have sputtered in various other attempts to keep track of former students and school parents.   Learning that this venture was generating 20-30 responses per day was very encouraging."

 

When the contest ended on October 21, we had heard back from more than 500 people for whom we had not had a current home and email address and cell phone number. Alumni from 29 states were eager to assist the school's efforts, motivated no doubt by the possibility of having their name drawn for two 200 level tickets to the November 6 Blackhawks vs. Dallas Stars game.

Cards came in from Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Washington DC, and even Singapore.

"In addition," noted Advancement Director Frank Glowaty, " graduates from every decade from the 40's right up to those currently in high school responded. "We are grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with them and provide them with information about the wonderful things taking place at their alma mater," he went on to say.

School principal, Karen Meskill, drew the winning ticket and it belonged to Sue Lesters Schlinger from the Class of 1986. Sue and her husband, Scot, who will accompany her to the game, live in Oswego with their three children.

Sue recalls transferring to our school, with her siblings Brian '87, Kris Busche '90, and Joe '94, as an eighth grader and walking into her new school the day after Labor Day. "My father was being transferred from Farmington Hills outside of Detroit to the Chicagoland area," she recalls. "We had intended to relocate to the Palos Heights area but when my parents told our real estate agent they wanted to send their children to a good Catholic school, the agent immediately suggested they forget about the Palos area, move to Naperville, and enroll at Saints Peter and Paul School."

"I have fond memories of my limited time at Saints Peter and Paul," Schlinger reminisced. "I was sad to leave my friends at Our Lady of Sorrows and very nervous about starting a new school in eighth grade where everyone had known each other for years. My fears were soon put to rest as all of my classmates were welcoming and accepting as were the teachers, particularly Miss Doolin and Mrs. McDonagh. I wish I had spent more of my elementary years here," she concluded.