This op-ed by Spirit of Excellence Committee Chair Peter Lyskowski appeared in the March 10, 2024, edition of the Jefferson City News Tribune.

At the end of the timeless musical “West Side Story,” Maria sings a reprise of the song “Somewhere” as Tony, her forbidden love, dies in her arms. She sings “there’s a place for us, somewhere a place for us,” and “there’s a time for us, someday a time for us.”

Helias Catholic High School staged a magnificent production of “West Side Story” in spring 2023, featuring professional-grade actors, dancers and singers. Their performance of “Somewhere” was perhaps prescient.  

For Helias Catholic’s performing arts programs, for its student-athletes, for all students and families in our community who value Catholic education, there is “a place for us” and there is “a time for us.”

Helias Catholic is embarking on its transformative “Spirit of Excellence” project to complete its campus master plan. Adding a performing arts center, baseball and softball complex, and updated athletic training facility, this capstone in our school’s development will bring even more life to an already vibrant campus in the heart of Jefferson City.

Helias Catholic is blessed with world-class facilities and the boundless generosity of our community that continues to make them possible. The school’s most recent major addition included a new Science Center, chapel and administrative wing, and the Crusader Athletic Complex.

We are also blessed to be part of a community that continually supports its schools and understands the vital role they serve in developing the character of our future leaders. 

Just a few years ago, Crusader football Fridays happened at Jefferson City High School’s Adkins Stadium. Crusader student-athletes in our soccer, tennis, and track and field programs traveled regularly to the 179 Soccer Complex, Washington Park, and track facilities at JCHS and Lincoln University. Now we are here! While we are grateful for the generosity of our community partners who have shared use of their facilities, there’s no place like home.

We sing gratitude for the gifts we have been given and for those who have given them. And we stand now before a new opportunity to build on the spirit of excellence at the heart of Helias Catholic’s mission.

The planned additions to the Helias Catholic campus will feature a performing arts center with a 1,000-seat auditorium, a 380-foot deep baseball and softball field, and an expansion to our beloved Rackers Fieldhouse for updated athletic and conditioning facilities. This project will complete the campus on Swifts Highway that has been home of the Crusaders since 1956. It will also provide a home for future Crusaders — these facilities, like others at Helias Catholic, will be available for use by students from local grade schools for their sports, performances and other activities.

Helias Catholic’s stunning production of “West Side Story” was staged off-campus at the amazing Miller Performing Arts Center (which will also host this spring’s much anticipated Helias Catholic production of “Grease”). Our Final Four softball teams churn out RBIs and baseball shortstops spear line drives off-campus at the beautiful and generously provided American Legion Sports Complex. Our student-athletes stack up making sure to get their reps either waiting in line at Helias Catholic’s current strength and conditioning room or off-campus at other gyms.

We are eternally grateful for the local partnerships that accommodate these off-site activities, we are also excited for the opportunity to host them on our own campus.  

This vision began nearly 70 years ago when Catholic leaders in our community realized they were outgrowing St. Peter High School. We now stand on their shoulders and with similar vision see that “there’s a place for us,” and it’s not just “somewhere” — it’s here!

Now is the time to make this vision a reality. It’s an effort that will rely on the enthusiasm and continued support of our whole community.

To learn more about this exciting project, please click here to visit the Spirit of Excellence page or contact Helias Catholic High School President Ron Vossen at rvossen@heliascatholic.com.

Peter Lyskowski is chair of Helias Catholic High School’s Spirit of Excellence Committee, a 1995 Helias Catholic graduate, and parent of two Crusaders.