Newman Catholic Schools heading back to school Thursday

ROTHSCHILD, Wis. (WSAW) - Kids at Newman Catholic are heading back to school on Thursday and as parents and students arrive, you can expect to see some new additions.

Technology was a big focus over the summer. The school created a new innovation room at the middle and high school building, including 3D printers, brand-new computers, and virtual reality headsets. The renovations and new equipment were bought through privately funded and federal grants. The district said it will provide many learning opportunities.

“This innovation center is something that is going to be a great thing for our school going forward that our students are going to be able to use and use their creativity to explore and create in a team fashion or individual fashion,” said Jeff Gulan, President of Newman Catholic Schools.

The project was completed early and under budget. The room at the middle and high school is not just for technology teachers, all teachers will be able to use it to help with student learning experiences.

Another new addition is at St. Marks in Rothschild. Through the years, it’s been a collaborative program with the Wausau School District, now Newman is in their own building.

It’s a full-day program for four-year-olds. Additionally, 22 kids in kindergarten through fifth grade will have a regular school day. The program teaches the skills needed to move ahead to kindergarten. Now it focuses more on their mission of a Catholic faith-based program.

“We have that family atmosphere, they get to hang out there when the high school kids come over, and things that we weren’t able to do in the past, we’re a faith-based school, and being able to pray every day with our four-year-old’s, being able to share our faith is amazing to me,” said Shirley Heise, Principal at St. Marks.

The 4k students get to join in mass with all the other students. It is play-based learning, but students will still learn in the program. Shirley says while it’s just the first day of school, they’re excited about opening up another registration period for the program in February.

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