Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Contributed Photo Installed by a firm that has worked on NBA basketball courts, the new gymnasium floor at St. James Lutheran School is made of glistening hardwood.
Contributed Photo Crews work on the gymnasium floor inside St. James Lutheran School, which uses its gym for physical education classes and also team athletics.
Students returning from summer vacation will find significant improvements to athletic facilities at two parochial schools in Shawano.
St. James Lutheran School and Sacred Heart Catholic School both are investing heavily this summer in improvements to their gymnasiums.
Although school officials say educational quality in the classroom is foremost in maintaining quality institutions, facilities for physical activity and competition are also important.
“Athletics are a big deal to families,” said Danny Fosheim, athletic director at St. James.
St. James is installing a new hardwood floor in its gymnasium this summer, replacing an old vinyl floor that was worn and outdated.
Sacred Heart, meanwhile, is equipping its gymnasium with new basketball hoops, new volleyball nets, a new sound system and more.
Scott Marohl, athletic director for Sacred Heart, said parents want their children educated, but they also want athletic programs and other extracurriculars. Located near the school’s main entrance, the gymnasium is one of the first images that visitors see in the building.
“To be able to show off that part of our school is a big piece,” Marohl said.
Both parochial schools are located near downtown Shawano and serve students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Sacred Heart, 124 E. Center St., has an enrollment of about 100 students; St. James, 324 S. Andrews St., has about 170 students.
Both began improvements to their athletic facilities after classes were adjourned for the summer, and both look forward to unveiling the upgrades when students return for the fall.
For its new hardwood floor, St. James enlisted the services of Baseman Floors Inc., an Appleton-based firm that has performed work on many big-name basketball courts, including some in the NBA. The project cost about $60,000, which includes covers to protect the court during non-athletic uses.
Fosheim said the improvement will be eye-catching for students and staff accustomed to the old vinyl floor.
“It looks like a whole new place, really,” he said. “It’s made for athletics now.”
In addition to gym classes for students, both schools use their gymnasiums for basketball and volleyball teams in the Big Six Conference for private elementary schools.
No cost estimate was available for the Sacred Heart gymnasium project.
Sacred Heart’s improvements also include repainting the gym’s walls in the school’s colors of red, black and white. Although the floor is in good condition and will remain, Marohl said much of the equipment and furnishings were dated and tired.
“It needed to be updated and more modern,” Marohl said. “It’s amazing how it looks.”