Allentown Diocese Bishop Alfred A. Schlert exchanged his biretta \u2014 a boxy, pink cap \u2014 for a white hardhat Friday, before ceremoniously turning over the first shovelful of dirt dedicated to Notre Dame-Green Pond High School\u2019s new $10 million academic fieldhouse.<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s groundbreaking at the Catholic school\u2019s Bethlehem Township campus celebrated the replacement of the original one-story annex, built in 1965, with a new three-story building that will house eight classrooms alongside athletic facilities.<\/p>\n
The old annex already has been demolished, and construction on the site next to the school\u2019s new auditorium, built in 2022, is scheduled to be completed next fall.<\/p>\n
Principal Jaclyn Friel said the expanded academic space is desperately needed, adding that 100% of the school\u2019s nearly 550 students will benefit.<\/p>\n
The new building will host a gym, batting cages, weight room and training space, offices for coaches and locker room facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fieldhouse improves our competitiveness in the uber-competitive marketplace that is high school education,\u201d Notre Dame High School Board President Joe Kelly said.<\/p>\n
A 2016 study of the school\u2019s strengths and weaknesses informed the long-term growth strategy that included plans for the new annex, Kelly said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-NDGroundbreaking22_8102de.jpg\")
A groundbreaking ceremony for a new $10 million athletic and classroom facility takes place Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at Notre Dame-Green Pond High School in Bethlehem Township. Allentown Bishop Alfred A. Schlert, school leadership, alumni and current students were in attendance. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)<\/p>\n
It took two years of fundraising to raise capital, Friel said. She expressed gratitude to the project\u2019s donors \u201cfor believing, for building and for boldly shaping the future of Notre Dame.\u201d<\/p>\n
John Janitz, a member of the Faithful Futures Committee that spearheaded the fundraising efforts, passed away prior to the groundbreaking and will be honored on campus with a tree planting.<\/p>\n
Alongside Janitz\u2019s family members, the committee hoisted shovels wrapped in navy blue and white ribbons, and dug into two rectangular boxes of dirt placed in front of the stage at the center of the school\u2019s football field.<\/p>\n
Senior Matthew Delaney represented the student body, who watched from the bleachers beneath a \u201cHome of the Crusaders\u201d sign.<\/p>\n
Delaney said the old annex was the site of important memories, and the new building reflects the heart of a school that values tradition while being unafraid to imagine a new future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt represents opportunity for every student to learn, to compete, to create and to dream a little bigger,\u201d Delaney said.<\/p>\n
![\"Artist](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-NDGroundbreaking24-2.jpg\")
Artist renderings were on display Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new $10 million athletic and classroom facility at Notre Dame-Green Pond High School in Bethlehem Township. (Alloy5 Architecture)<\/p>\n
Schlert blessed the ground with holy water and led the crowd in prayer. A member of the school\u2019s Class of 1979, the bishop said the new facility will meet the demands of the 21st century, including space dedicated to wellness and community engagement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ground beneath our feet will soon host the structure that helps to carry our Catholic mission into the future,\u201d Schlert said.<\/p>\n
The school enrolled 413 students when it first opened in 1957, Schlert noted, saying it has stayed true to its co-ed, college preparatory roots as it has expanded to draw in students from neighboring counties.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay the annex always be a beacon of faith, excellence and community for our beloved Notre Dame High School,\u201d Schlert said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Allentown Diocese Bishop Alfred A. Schlert exchanged his biretta \u2014 a boxy, pink cap \u2014 for a white…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,227,433,182,139,434,28,432],"class_list":["post-28081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-education","tag-lehigh-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-northampton-county","tag-pennsylvania","tag-top-stories-tmc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}