Colin Meier – 6th Grade
St. Thomas Aquinas School and Parish has been at 46th and Illinois since the late 1930s. It has always been a church that accepts all. Over the next 50 years, I think St. Thomas will change in a lot of positive ways such as adding a food pantry and a high school.
The first thing that I think will change is there will be a food pantry located inside the St. Thomas Narthex. I believe that students in the middle school or even younger will work and help at our food pantry on the weekends giving food to the poor, arranging food baskets to parishioners, and continuing to donate to Haiti. The students working there would not get paid and it would help them earn service hours. At the food pantry, there would be either a volunteering teacher or adult, but the students will manage the pantry and only interact with the adults if they have a question or need help.
Another change St. Thomas will make is adding a new high school, which would be built in place of the small playground and Father Michael’s house behind the church. The high school wouldn’t be too big due to the small amount of space on the STA campus, though having a small school can provide extra opportunities for the students. The high school students can be role models for younger kids, can help facilitate activities, and add a wider range of students to input a variety of ideas and beliefs. I think that if parents, parishioners, and even students continue investing in the future of our parish, by 50 years I think we could obtain enough money to enlarge our school and student body.
In conclusion St. Thomas will change positively by adding a food pantry and high school on campus. Fifty years from now, St. Thomas will have a larger student body, a more contributing parish, and a wider variety of students.
