‘Pioneers’ of young school were ‘true leaders’ and ‘built a welcoming culture,’ says principal

LACEYBy Kevin Birnbaum

The eight members of Pope John Paul II High School’s first graduating class were instrumental in forming the culture of the young school — founding clubs, establishing traditions and serving as guinea pigs for new curricula each year.

“Truly, they were the pioneers of the school,” said Principal Ron Edwards.

So pioneering, in fact, that some of them couldn’t wait for the school to open.

When the school’s planned opening was postponed a year in 2009, four of the would-be freshmen elected to do a year of modified homeschooling, meeting in a trailer a few days a week for instruction from Edwards and Vice Principal Therese Allin.

When Pope John Paul II officially opened in the fall of 2010, this year’s graduating seniors entered as sophomores.

They will graduate at commencement exercises on Saturday, June 8, at 10:30 a.m. at the Westside Chapel of St. Michael Parish in Olympia.

Edwards describes the seniors as “true leaders” who “were at the center of all of our programs.”

“We had to call upon all our kids to be leaders right away,” he said. “They stepped up and did things that they probably never thought they would ever be doing — for example, playing on teams in sports that they had never played before.”

The eight seniors — seven boys and one girl — formed “an exceptionally close group,” Edwards said, but they were never exclusive.

“We don’t have tables at lunch that are exclusively freshmen or sophomores or juniors — they made sure that they mixed,” he said.

“They built a welcoming culture here at this school.”

June 5, 2013