PARK HILLS, Ky. – Notre Dame Academy has never hired a janitor to clean its facilities.
"Here we are," Sister Mary Rachel Nerone, S.N.D. said, laughing next to Sister Mary Paul Ann Hanneken, S.N.D.
If you can't find Nerone or Hanneken in their office, you usually can look for them in a broom closet, Jane Kleier, chief communications officer for the academy, though principal Jack VonHandorf has in recent years "forbidden" the sisters from climbing on any ladders. You might also find the sisters up on the fourth floor of the building, where they live.
“I think that’s part of what’s so unique about this program, too, is this is their home. So they have for years taken very good care of their home and enlisted the help of our families to take care of their home, too," Kleier said.
Notre Dame is an all-girls Catholic high school in this Kenton County suburb that serves just under 600 students. Notre Dame's work-study program, which offers tuition reimbursement for custodial work, was first established in 1965.
But Hanneken and Nerone revamped the program when they took over 25 years ago, opening up the possibilities for students to participate while still joining extracurriculars and enlisting the help of friends and family members. There are about 100 girls in the work-study program now, the sisters said.
Jobs include cleaning the cafeteria, classrooms, offices, bathrooms and chapel, mopping floors, vacuuming and wiping down the whiteboards and chalkboards.
“When I walk down the hallway and I see one of our work-study parents or one of our work-study students doing their work, you know, we always thank them. But their first sentence is, ‘No, thank you for having this opportunity,' " VonHandorf said. "The sisters have created that kind of an atmosphere and made a real commitment to those people and that’s who the sisters of Notre Dame have always been."
But with Hanneken and Nerone retiring this summer, Kleier said administrators started to worry about the future of the work-study program and the future care of the 60-year-old school building. That's where the academy's newly established building fund, created in Hanneken's and Nerone's names, came into play. The academy hopes to raise $3 million to sustain the work-study program and building renovations for years to come.
“Just so that we know that forever this building will be taken care of the way the sisters have taken such wonderful care of it over the years," Kleier said.
'It means a lot to us to be here.'
Girls smile and wave to Hanneken and Nerone when they pass them in the hallways. Some stop to ask how the sisters are feeling, if they got sunburnt at last week's outdoor assembly.
The sisters know many of the girls by name, and their families, too. It's a well-known fact at Notre Dame Academy that if you need an extra prayer, you let the sisters know. Hanneken and Nerone are even honored in Notre Dame's sports hall of fame for being "such good fans," Kleier said.
Nerone said cleaning the classrooms side-by-side with the students, the sisters have gotten to build close relationships with the girls.
"Sometimes they share some things that are important to them, and they like to share them with somebody," Nerone said.
Nerone and Hanneken both said the most important part of the work-study opportunity is its ability to widen accessibility to a Notre Dame education. The sisters never question a student's financial need. They hand the student a broom, instead.
"The little ones will empty the waste cans and the grade school kids can sweep the floors," Hanneken said. “If you want something, you want it bad enough, you’ll work for it in order to make it happen.”
The sisters, Kleier and VonHandorf agree that the program has instilled a sense of pride and ownership in Notre Dame students as they walk through the halls. Hanneken smiles when she watches a student pick up a loose scrap of paper from the hallway floor in the middle of the school day. Some community members have even volunteered to help with maintenance outside of school walls, assisting with groundskeeping, mulching and cutting the grass.
"For me, it’s a way that we’re able to show the pride that we have in our school. As you go around here, I think you can see that is very visible," VonHandorf said.
Hanneken and Nerone said after they retire they hope to keep living on the fourth floor of Notre Dame, where three other sisters currently reside. There used to be nearly 30 sisters living in the building, they said.
“We really love this place. It’s our home," Hanneken said. "And we love seeing the girls, to greet them, and I think they like to see us here. We like to go to their activities, their sports or their theatre or whatever else they’re involved in. We are the greatest fans that they have as far as sports.”
Those looking to donate to the Sister Mary Paul Ann Hanneken and Sister Mary Rachel Nerone Fund: Serving Our Mission, Securing Our Future can contact Nancy Goeke, director of major gifts and events at 859-292-1851 or by email at [email protected].
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