New wing opens at St. Joseph Elementary School

Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

OGDEN — Students at Saint Joseph Catholic Elementary School now have a gymnasium to play in, a science lab and a room dedicated to art classes.

Until now, the school, constructed in 1944, had no gymnasium; the cafeteria doubled as the students’ lunchroom and gym space. Science and art classes were held in regular classrooms.

The capital campaign for the expansion, which also included a state-of-the-art kitchen and a room for extended day care, began eight years ago. The groundbreaking was held in April 2024. Nancy Essary, who retired as the school’s principal in 2023, was the building project manager.   

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 1, held in the new gymnasium, Bishop Oscar A. Solis said diocesan officials, parents and school staff “remain committed to building up our Catholic schools, where our students not only pursue learning but also receive the influence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives.”

At Catholic schools, “we do not only form our minds to become intelligent, we form our hearts to become wise – wise not only in the eyes of the world but wise in the eyes of our loving God,” the bishop said.

He prayed that “the good work that is to be completed in this building” would be richly blessed, noting that every blessing comes from God. He told the students that the celebration was “to recognize the manifestation and expression of God’s love for us, providing us a place – this beautiful building – that will be used for you.”

It will be a place “to teach our hearts, not simply our minds,” he said, and “to see to it that God will become a part of every event and activity of our life when you are at school.”

The students are meant to share the love of God with others, “so everything you learn in this school, when you utilize this building, is intended not only for yourself but whatever the love of God we receive from this building, and from this school, our mission is to share it with others,” Bishop Solis said.

He thanked the benefactors, the parents and the faculty and staff of the school “for all your efforts in providing a building as beautiful as this to our children and to the next generation to come.”

He then dedicated the building “to the education of youth, to the nurturing of faith, to the expansion of knowledge, and to the building of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.”

He prayed that God would “make it become a center where students and teachers, imbued with the words of the Gospel, will search for wisdom that guides us in the Christian life and strive wholeheartedly to stand by Christ as a teacher who lives and reigns forever and ever.”

Following the blessing, he asked the students to turn around and thank their parents and the school’s benefactors who were in the stands.  

In her comments at the event, Jean Synowicki, principal, said, “It is truly a gift to have this incredible space where our students can learn, grow and thrive.”

She said the building would not have been possible without the generosity of the donors, and she specifically named the ALSAM Foundation and the McCarthy Foundation. She also thanked Nancy Essary, the former principal, “for her dedication in overseeing this project through to completion.”