Immaculate Conception celebrates 75 years in education
While attending third-grade at Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Schools in Hamtramck, Hlib Lonchyna felt a calling to become a priest.
“We don’t become a priest because we think we’re going to be the best person in the world,” he said. “A person becomes a priest because he hears a calling. It’s called a vocation. It doesn’t come in a report card. It’s doesn’t come in books. It’s in your heart. You can feel it. God is calling you.”
After many years in the priesthood, Bishop Lonchyna is currently the apostolic administrator sede vacante of the Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainian Faithful of Byzantine Rite in Great Britain. Pope Benedict XVI appointed the bishop, who lives in London and oversees more than 30 churches.
On Oct. 24, the one-time IC student returned to his roots when he visited the school to help mark the 75th anniversary of IC. He gathered in the chapel with the first- through eighth-grader students and their teachers, and then toured the building. The bishop attended IC when it was still located in Hamtramck.
“I have very fond memories of the time I was in our grade school on McDougall Street,” said Lonchyna, who was born Feb. 23, 1954, in Steubenville, Ohio. Staff and students chuckled when he admitted he wasn’t always the best student. Lonchyna said people can “get discouraged” if they don’t feel like they have friends or do “bad in school.”
“We think we have to be like that, but that’s not true,” he said. “Never is a person completely bad. Even if we do wrong things in our lives, we can always be better. We can always repent.”
During his visit, Lonchyna and the students had a brief discussion about the importance of technology, including computers and cell phones, but he reminded them of something even more valuable.
“Love is the most important thing in life,” the bishop said. “A computer can never love you. The most important thing is God.”
Lonchyna reminded the students to remember to recite the Rosary, pray and strongly believe in the Lord.
“When we pray, we sometimes think there are so many commandments and it becomes difficult,” he said. “But when you start loving, it makes things easier. If you love God, prayer won’t be a burden. Don’t just accept everything at face value. Look for a deeper meaning.”
And don’t forget those around you.
“If a person feels unloved, they might start doing bad things,” the bishop said.
“It’s exciting to see someone who was a student here who went so far,” Principal Dianne Karpinsky said.
“Someday, in the future, there is something wonderful waiting for you,” Karpinsky told the students. “You just have to work on it.”
In addition to the Oct. 24 assembly, the IC held a banquet dinner the previous day at the Ukrainian Cultural Center to acknowledge 75 years.
“The whole celebration is beautiful,” Father Daniel Schaicoski said. “I think it kind of gives a new energy.”
The school is home to 187 preschool through eighth-grade students. Daniel said enrollment has increased about 30 percent over the past three years. The seventh- and eighth-graders attend school in an academy-like setting with a variety of classes and teachers.
Along with core classes of math, English and science, the IC students learn the Ukrainian language and attend religion class on a regular basis. Students also participate in art, music, computers and physical education classes through the Hanley International Academy, chartered through Grand Valley State University. And while the school maintains a strong Ukrainian background, children of all cultures are welcome.
Parent Janet Biondo — who has a third-grader and seventh-grader at IC — said she’s “always been impressed” with the school.
“It’s a small gem in the community,” she said. “The kids just soar here. My children have been very happy here. They have many friends and are receiving an excellent education.”
IC first opened in Hamtramck in 1936 with an enrollment of 18 students in two classes. According to the school’s history, new pastor Father Joseph Schmondiuk several years later proposed a new school building to accommodate the growing enrollment. A “dollar-a-Sunday” campaign was created to fund the new school, which eventually opened in September 1951 in Hamtramck. In 1983, a public school building was purchased from Warren Consolidated Schools, and IC moved to the suburbs on Westbrook, near 12 Mile, in Warren, where is still stands today.
Maria ALLARD
