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2022 FOJPS 5K Results and Winners
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in or donated to our second annual virtual 5K – benefiting the students and teachers at John Paul Secondary School in Uganda! The 5K week was a huge success: we had 185 participants from all around the world, we received tons of great photos of people walking, running, rolling for the kids and we earned over $22,250 which will go toward construction of a much needed multi-purpose building and kitchen. And congratulations to all of our photo winners!
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Technology: A Path for All
In today’s world, the role of computer experience cannot be overstated. This is especially true in countries where only a select portion of the population has this experience, as it can be the deciding factor between success and stagnation. Uganda is one such country. Many of the students at John Paul Secondary School will not have operated a computer before doing so in class – compare this with the widespread use of technology in the United States, where children as young as one or two years old have their own tablets. That does not make Ugandan students’ knowledge of computers less important, though: if a Ugandan student in secondary school…
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Visitation Day March 2022
Welcome to Visitation Day at John Paul Secondary School! What a joyful day for the students…. this is the day they get to celebrate with a visit from their parents. Parents who are able, come from far and wide to participate in this important day, conducted once per each of the 3 terms in the school year. Visitation day serves multiple purposes. First, it offers the opportunity for the teachers to interact with the parents to evaluate student academic performance and discuss behavior and student acclimation to school. As you can image, that’s especially important this year after an almost 2-year hiatus. Secondly, Visitation Day allows the parents an opportunity…
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Virtual 5K Year 2 – Let’s Go!
Please join us for our second annual Friends of John Paul School Virtual 5K to support the kids in Uganda at John Paul Secondary School. Again this year, our students and teachers in Uganda will be joining us for the Virtual 5K! Virtual means that you commit to walking, running, cycling, etc. for 3.1 miles some time during the week of June 4th through June 10th. You can pick your path, timing and people you want to do it with. Our phenomenal sponsor, Kim Dwyer of Thrivent, is donating custom race t-shirts for each participant so everything raised goes directly to support our students’ education. Prices are just $25 per…
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Welcome the Students Back to JPSS
The Dream Continues…. After a very long 22 months of no education in Uganda, the students at John Paul Secondary School were finally able to return to the classroom on January 10, 2022! And, we are thrilled to report that the students returned in record numbers . . . over 600 of them! The most critical factor in a quality education is qualified, caring teachers who mentor as well as instruct. Throughout the pandemic, we continued to pay our valued teachers. We will continue this practice and increase their ranks to 41 teachers to narrow the student-teacher ratio in order to bridge the gap in their academic studies. The Faculty…
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Thank You For Your Giving Tuesday Support!
On behalf of the students of John Paul School, our heartfelt thanks for your contribution during Giving Tuesday. We are so pleased that beginning early in January – after a 20-month gap in their learning – our young, determined students will return to school. They return to advanced academics, disciplined study and caring teachers who instill, along with knowledge, love of learning, values and integrity. Of course, they will face the arduous burden of lost learning . . . your gift will help these dedicated students bridge that gap. Thank you!
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A Wonderful Evening, A Wonderful Cause
A BIG “Thank You” to everyone who attended our 7th Annual “Friends of John Paul School” Wine Tasting Fundraiser. We had our largest group attending this year and a fun time was had by all! A special “Thank You” to Rito Lisi of the Silver Spoon Ristorante in Rochester, Michigan. This wonderful evening could not have taken place without his continued commitment to JPSS and its students. Thank you as well to chef, Daniele Dell’Acqua for the delicious menu. And, last but certainly not least, we thank Kim Dwyer of Thrivent, for qualifying Friends of John Paul Secondary School, Uganda, East Africa to receive Thrivent Choice Dollars. Because of all…
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Quality, Functional, AND Cost-Effective Facilities
Proudly affirming that 97% of donor contributions goes toward student and faculty programs and facilities, we want to provide an update on our Three-Year Development Program. While the school itself was closed, Friends of John Paul School and the school faculty were as busy as ever. First, there were government mandates to satisfy, such as security fencing, hiring a full-time nurse and security guards for the campus. After more than 12 years, there was a significant amount of maintenance needed for older parts of the campus. This included foundation work, new and restored flooring, doubling the number of latrines and improvement of the campus water supply. The entire computer lab…
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A Beacon of Hope
Friends of John Paul School recognized early on that proficiency in the sciences and digital technology would be necessary if students were to be ready to take their place in today’s business world. The Science and Learning Center was the second major construction on campus and contained Chemistry, Biology and Physics labs. The first computer lab was introduced in 2015; as school attendance grew, so did the requirement for more computer hardware. In 2019, Board Director Liz Comerford began the process of funding and developing a major expansion – to more than double its capabilities. Coordinating their efforts, Liz and Computer teacher Francis Akol explored the most efficient and cost-effective…
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2021 FOJPS 5K Wrap-up
Thank you to all of the wonderful participants, donors and supporters of our first annual Walk, Run and Roll 5K to support John Paul Secondary School in Uganda. Please watch our wrap-up video below to enjoy this fun event!
