St. John's students appeal to alumni for help (04/06/03)

St. John's students appeal to alumni for help

In an effort to save their school, students of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School in Newark, N.J., have written open letters to alumni, Following is a selection of those letters.

Recently we received the sad news that St. John's will be closing at the end of this school year. Unless we get some help, my class will be the last to graduate from St. John's. This school has the most devoted teachers I know of. St. John's is a big part of our family and shaped us to be the responsible and productive people we are today.

Our school does many great things; for example, we have food drives to help the poor and needy, we go caroling to elderly people for the Christmas season, and we are educated with great knowledge, which will help us in later years.

It would be sad if this was the last year for our wonderful school to be open. We ask you to please make a donation or help us in any way that you can. You have attended this school, so you know how amazing St. John's is!

Sincerely,
Kristina Rakoczy

* * *

Our pastor, Father Bohdan, recently announced in the church bulletin that there is a chance of St. John's School closing down in June. This is dreadful news to students, parents, teachers and parishioners.

Our school is special because it gives us a Ukrainian cultural education. We learn how to sing Ukrainian songs and play on the sopilka. The teachers of our school contribute a great education for only one-third the pay of what teachers get in other schools.

We are asking you to give a donation or to send your child/children to our school.

Sincerely yours,
Larissa Smyk

* * *

It has been brought to my attention that it is possible that St. John's School may close its doors by June. This is a sad time in St. John's history. I am asking you, the alumni, to help out the school by donating money. This school has served the Ukrainian community for over 50 years.

This is a rough time for students and parents because, if the school closes down, parents will have to find their children new schools. Also, students set a foundation of friendship. It would be a sad event if our school closed down, because this school teaches us about our religion and language. I am hoping that you are convinced by my letter and donate to our school.

Sincerely yours,
Andrew Puzyk

* * *

I am writing to you because of the tragic news that our school might be closing down. Unless we get some serious help, we have no hope for the school that we all love so much. It would be awful if children like us no longer have the opportunity to be taught the way we are taught here at St. John's.

We all enjoy coming in to school every day because of the friendly atmosphere around us. Please, make a donation so that in the future other children get the chance to go through what we went through at St. John's. If you have children of your own, consider sending them to our school, it will help us tremendously.

Please help the school in any way you can, - you can make a difference!

Sincerely,
Mariana Turkot

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