The Tablet . Stories | Diocese of Brooklyn

“We took a huge leap of faith” is how St. Matthias School principal Barbara Wehnes describes the completion of the new St. Matthias Library Media Center, Ridgewood.

From the idea’s conception to the actual ribbon-cutting ceremony in November 2006, the Library Media Center needed $125,000 cash, including a $10,000 grant from the diocesan Alive in Hope Fund, countless hours of volunteer work, and the parish family pulling together for its school.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, four people who were instrumental in leading the campaign from its inception to completion met in the Library Media Center to talk about the project.

NEW MEDIA CENTER: Standing in front of the donor wall in St. Matthias’s new Media Center are, above from left, Ana Mostarac, parish director of stewardship and development; Msgr. Edward Scharfenberger, pastor; Ruth Betkowski, librarian; Barbara Wehnes, principal; and Ken Powis, plant manager for St. Matthias. Below students work on laptops in their new library, which benefited from an Alive in Hope grant.

Ken Powis, the plant manager for St. Matthias, said, “The main library before this was unattractive. It was spread out from the computer room and the television room. They were all on different floors and the people who were working in the rooms were all over the place. We wanted to utilize the school’s staff and space.”

The first step was finding the space, and they found it in the downstairs multi-purpose play area and the two kindergarten classrooms that were next to it. The next step was the actual design. Powis, who has a background in engineering, had an idea from the beginning: a media room, a multi-purpose classroom, a primary kids room and a main library.

The committee shopped around for contractors, “but we were mortified at the prices we were quoted,” said Powis. “It was just way beyond our budget.”

So they started thinking along the lines of volunteer work and efforts on behalf of the parish family.

“Not only did we start a fund for donations, we started one for volunteers,” said Ana Mostarac, director of stewardship and development for the parish.

In the end, the committee completed the entire project within one-third of the cost they were quoted.

As one walks in the primary room, a huge mural is painted on the wall. A three-dimensional tree grows up the center with a flat-screen television peeking through the bark and amphitheatre seating on the carpeted floor. Mostarac explained, “We wanted to create a mini-amphitheatre for the kids. But the cost of digging a pit through the cement was roughly $12,000. In the end, one of the contractors we originally went to for a price quote donated his time and expertise in digging the pit and constructing the seating.”

The bright mural was also donated. A St. Matthias school parent painted it, for free. The Artale family, who own a local cabinetry shop, did the custom-built shelving.

St. Matthias principal Barbara Wehnes said, “We have a wonderful connection to families of the past. The Artale family had their sons in our school decades ago. Myself and a few of the other faculty still here taught them as children. When they heard about this project, they built these custom shelves at a fraction of the cost because of their connection to us. The quality of work was outstanding.”

Wehnes, who has been a part of the school for 28 years, first as teacher and now as principal, added, “When you bring families through here, they see the furniture made by the children who we taught.”

When entering the computer room, wireless computer MacBooks sit on every desk. Powis explained, “We purchased all of the Apple equipment at the education price, but then the company actually donated the file server to us, a $3,500 value.”

At the head of the classroom, a numonics interactive presentation manager hangs in place of a chalkboard. Wehnes added, “This room and the equipment is virtual enough where we can do eighth- grade mathematics but also teach second-grade cursive writing.”

Patty Klein is the computer and physical education teacher at St. Matthias. She said, “The students are so excited, so enthralled… The computers are very visual. Instead of the students working at technology, they are actually playing with it – and learning.”

“We followed a lot of what the diocesan Office of Stewardship and Development does,” Mostarac said. After applying for a grant from the Alive in Hope foundation, they received $10,000 for their media center. And with the help of two major donors and the parish family, in the end they raised $125,000 cash. “The rest,” Mostarac proudly related, “was done with volunteer service.”

“We figured that the library media center would be beneficial in marketing the school when increasing enrollment is so important. We also wanted to free up the rooms where the library, computer lab and television room used to be to use for classroom space,” said Msgr. Edward Scharfenberger, pastor of St. Matthias. He oftentimes uses the newly refurbished space to hold parish committee meetings.

In the center of the main library is the donor wall, a broad-ranging symbol of those who helped make the dream of the media center a reality. Some names are of alumni, local businesses, friends of the school, even grandparents of current and former students. “When I bring in families, I can say ‘this is a gift to you’ and let the children of this school know that they have received a gift,” Wehnes said.

“We were good stewards with monetary gifts but also with our own gifts to make this media center come to life,” Mostarac said. “Ken (Powis) was creative and designed everything. Others were gifted with their hands.”

Powis added, “The staff put together a large amount of the work, and our crew of volunteers who were constantly committed weren’t burdened.” Most of the construction took place during the summer of 2006, when school was out of session.

“Our hope is that this becomes a legacy and will become a part of the next generation. No one goes to this length if they think their school doors are closing,” Wehnes said. “We took a huge leap of faith.”