St. John students help peers

Intermountain Catholic

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DRAPER — Students at Saint John the Baptist Middle School contribute to many causes worldwide, but also have turned their attention to one in their own backyard. Saint Marguerite Catholic Elementary School in Tooele is undergoing a significant transition in its school history.

Opened in 1951 with 53 preschool students in a converted convent, Saint Marguerite School is on the brink of an expansion to build a new facility that will support classes from prekindergarten through eighth grade with staff offices and an extended day program.

As the only private school in Tooele County, Saint Marguerite School will be introducing Catholic values to more students and families. The expansion will take place in two phases with the first being ready for the start of the 2012-2013 school year.

Saint John the Baptist Middle School in Draper was established in 1999 and has experienced some of the same growing pains that Saint Marguerite is undergoing and decided to step up. In conjunction with Catholic Schools Week, the 6th-, 7th- and 8th-grade students at Saint John the Baptist Middle School collected school supplies during a two-week period ending on Feb. 11. Needed school supplies were identified and donated in a competition among 18 HomeBase classrooms. The National Junior Honor Society added to the effort by selling $2 "free dress" coupons for Valentines Day.

On Feb. 22, Saint Marguerite teacher Becky Witkowski arrived in Draper and was greeted by the 6th-grade students with mounds of school supplies and a check in the amount of $1,016.75. A special "thank you" arrived the next day in the form of ice cream bars from the students of Saint Marguerite.