Search
History
-
-
The Church of the Immaculate Conception was founded in 1923. On May 25, 1939, Father Joseph Lapinski broke ground for Immaculate Conception School. The building was completed in the fall and the school opened with 224 students occupying six of the nine classrooms. Seven Sisters of St. Francis from Sylvania, Ohio staffed the school and lived in the three rooms at the south end of the original building.
The Church of the Immaculate Conception continued to expand, and along with it, the school. By 1949, the school had reached an enrollment of slightly over 600. A new home for the Sisters was built in 1949, and their residential area in the school was renovated into classrooms. At this time there were twelve classrooms with about fifty students per class. In 1950, 659 students were enrolled. It was evident that in addition to the school was necessary in order to continue to bring Catholic Education to the ever-growing parish population. In the fall of 1953, the building of the new addition to the school was underway. The new wing added eight more classrooms bringing the total rooms to twenty. The faculty increased to 16 Sisters and 5 lay teachers. That year enrollment reached 1,123 students. The next few years saw the enrollment continue to grow, peaking at 1,223 students in 1961.
The year 1976 saw the groundbreaking for another addition to the building. The new section included a gym facility, faith formation offices, and the parish offices. That same year the structure that was the old church, then a gym, was renovated to become the present school auditorium. The lunchroom also received a new look that year. In 1989 the Sisters vacated the convent and the parish began leasing the building to ELIM - a residence for single mothers and their children. Two years later, in 1991, Extended Day Care began operation in the school building.
In 1995, Extended Day moved its operation to the Rectory, as the priests no longer resided there. In 1998 the library became a Technology Center to house 20-30 computers with Internet access. In 1999 extensive work to the exterior of the buildings took place. The roofs were replaced and the exterior walls repaired. In 2001 the auditorium roof was replaced and trim painted. Extended Day moved to the rooms off the auditorium and the rectory became the pastor's residence. In 2003 the convent was converted for parish use and offices formerly housed in the rectory moved to the convent.
Renovations in the cafeteria took place in 2003 and in the auditorium in 2004. A licensed pre-K opened in September of 2004 and was located on the first floor of the school.
In 2007, new standards were implemented for teacher and staff development, the curriculum was updated to be child-learning centered, and the Food Service Program was revamped and a new chef hired.
During the 2009-2010 school year, ICS carried out the school mission using the framework from the accreditation process. ICS earned MNSAA accredited status for 2009-2016. ICS also earned recognition for meeting Diocesan standards for teaching religion.
The Extended Day Program was re-named Pathways and Journeys in 2008. The program expanded its offerings to provide day time care for students enrolled in the pre-school program. After school activities were expanded to include the First Lego League.
The school was founded to foster religious and moral values, as well as to provide an excellent academic education. Through the continued support of Immaculate Conception parishioners, the school still stands as a symbol to the whole community of the gospel message it imparts.
-
Sr. M. Loretto Stalock
ICS Principal 1939-1944 -
-
Links
-
