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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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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!
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A Promise to be Kept
From its inception, Friends of John Paul School has engaged interested individuals in raising funds for the school. Initially, there were many small events such as rummage sales, runs, Christmas bazaars, Scout projects – all designed to “spread the word” about the school and its vision of providing opportunity to the young people of Uganda. These efforts supported several benefactors who helped fund the Science center building, biology and physics labs, library, boys’ and girls’ dorms and the newly-expanded computer center. Regardless of size and frequency, ALL donations have been and are today truly valued and most carefully utilized. It is the primary function of the non-salaried Board of Directors…
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From Barren Field to Thriving Campus
In 2005, a visiting missionary spoke to the St. Fabian Catholic Church congregation in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Paul and Nancy Berrigan were struck by the terrible poverty of the people of Chelekura, extremely impressed by dynamic Msgr. John Kauta’s description of the good that might be done there and encouraged by how far the American dollar could go. Understanding that the root cause of poverty is lack of education, they pledged to build a small school near the village. In an agreement with the Archdiocese of Tororo and the Ugandan government, their initial pledge of a primary school changed into the promise of a secondary school – college preparatory under…
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Do We Make A Difference?
Our donors deserve to see confirmation of our efforts. Here are some of John Paul School’s most recent outcomes and remember . . . they occurred DESPITE almost a year’s disruption in learning. Other measurable results: Six S-6 students earned passing grades in two principle passes, enabling them to join a university if they can pay the tuition. Most will pursue careers in Education because of its employability and affordability. An additional five S-6 students scored one principal pass. They may be eligible for tertiary learning institutions. Only five students failed the difficult exams . . . not unusual after a year of interrupted learning. They will most certainly retake…
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Hope . . . The Antidote
We are proud to announce that JPSS moved up more than 200 places in its national ranking among Ugandan secondary schools. We stand fourth in the Pallisa District, 874 out of 2094 nationally and 1022 as the best performing science school in the country. Administrator Fr. John Chrysostom and Headmaster Moses Bwayo offer valid reasons why the school is ranked so highly and enjoys such a great reputation. Fr. John: “The Ugandan Education system is mainly theoretical. Most graduates of this system can reason but without practical skills which is very dangerous. This can be attributed to the government’s failure to equip major institutions with the necessary equipment to provide…
