Ave Maria Academy’s Mt. Lebanon campus receives $25,000 donation
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Heather Garcia, right, announces the McDonald’s donation in honor of Sandra Ondriezek, left, and Melanie Kutchell.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
From left are Lynne Lynch, principal at Ave Maria Academy’s Bethel Park campus; Sandra Ondriezek, intermediate-grade teacher at Mt. Lebanon; Leslie Krueger, principal at Mt. Lebanon; and third-grade teacher Melanie Kutchell.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
The occasion is captured on video.
The last Thursday of October already looked to be a special day at Ave Maria Academy’s Mt. Lebanon campus.
Students were treated to a morning dance-a-thon followed by classroom Halloween parties in the afternoon. And in between, they gathered in St. Bernard Church’s Clairvaux Hall for a schoolwide assembly that revealed some inspiring news.
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Leslie Krueger addresses the assembly.
Principal Leslie Krueger surprised third-grade teacher Melanie Kutchell and intermediate-grade teacher Sandra Ondriezek by calling them to the front of the hall.
“We cannot thank you enough for what you do for your students and your community,” Krueger told the teachers. “And now your community is there to recognize you.”
The recognition came in the form of a $25,000 donation in their honor from McDonald’s, which put out an inquiry on social media asking, “Who are some teachers in our community who are making a difference?”
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Teachers Sandra Ondriezek, left, and Melanie Kutchell are surprised by the announcement.
Ave Maria parent Jessica Balsom responded “and gave you both a shout-out for your kinds hearts, your leadership and professionalism, your acts of kindness, your willingness to volunteer at work and in our community,” Krueger said to the teachers.
The announcement of the dollar amount was made by Heather Garcia, McDonald’s field public relations manager for markets including Pittsburgh.
“We heard your stories, and we were so inspired by all that you do inside and outside of the classroom,” she told Kutchell and Ondriezek. “It’s been so moving to see over these past several, several months how local communities lean on each other to get through the good and the bad. Nowhere is that more visible than in schools.”
Earlier in the month, McDonald’s provided thank-you meals to educators as a way of showing appreciation.
“But we know that empowering you to do your best work and thanking you for everything you do every day goes beyond just a free meal,” Garcia said. “We heard that Ave Maria hasn’t had a musical production in about two years, and we’re excited that this donation will help cover the cost of not only the next musical in the spring, but many musicals to come.”
Ondriezek reacted to the announcement with an understandably high level of excitement.
“I used to be a music teacher many years ago, so I am so excited that we can put on the musical,” she said. “That’s going to be tremendous.”
Kutchell shared the enthusiasm.
“This is awesome. It’s great that this in honor of us, but it’s because of you guys,” she told the students. “Today was so much fun, so I can just only imagine what we can also bring later with this musical.”
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Ave Maria Academy students listen to the announcement in St. Bernard Church’s Clairvaux Hall. The historic Mt. Lebanon church is named for St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), a French theologian and abbot.