A DIOCESAN SCHOOL recently celebrated an upgrade of its sports and academic facilities with a special Mass and blessing by Bishop Thanh Thai Nguyen.
On Oct. 28, Bishop Nguyen presided over the Mass at Our Lady of Fatima (OLF) Academy before blessing the school’s new athletic field, STEAM Lab and Marian grotto.
ON OCT. 28, OUR LADY OF FATIMA ACADEMY IN SAN CLEMENTE CELEBRATED AN UPGRADE OF ITS SPORTS AND ACADEMIC FACILITIES WITH A SPECIAL MASS AND BLESSING BY BISHOP THANH THAI NGUYEN. PHOTOS BY SCOTT SMELTZER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Bishop Nguyen said the visit was like returning home — he recalled the year he spent at the ocean-view parish years ago — and admired its many improvements since then.
“We come together to bring Him and bless this sports field, grotto for the Mother of His Son, and a classroom dedicated to student learning, weaving together science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics,” Bishop Nguyen said.
BISHOP THANH THAI NGUYEN CELEBRATED A SPECIAL MASS ON OCT. 28 AT OUR LADY OF FATIMA IN SAN CLEMENTE.
The renovations were the vision of principal Jennifer Jukic when she took on the role three years ago, said assistant principal Shannon Nicholas, who also serves as the middle school religio teacher. Through family donations and community fundraising — the athletic field was the school’s Fund-A-Project at its gala last year— OLF Academy was able to complete the three projects for the 2026 school year.
“My goal three years ago when I came in was to give the Our Lady of Fatima students the best I possibly could, so being able to give them a full-size regulation field to play on has been amazing,” said Jukic. “The STEAM Lab has been a gift because it gives them the 21st-century education they deserve. Our grotto is just another space to pray and to be together outside in the beautiful city of San Clemente.”
The STEAM Lab is a dedicated space for science, technology, engineering, art and math education that is utilized by TK through eighth-grade homeroom teachers for STEAM-specific projects each week, said art teacher Daphne Henry, who facilitates the lab. The students will also get to visit the space a second time each week for dedicated art lessons.
“When you come into a space that’s really creative, there’s stuff everywhere and you can see what everybody else is doing, I feel like it ups the level of what we’re doing,” Henry said. “I think it levels up the creativity.”
The lab gives teachers a space and supplies to work on STEAM projects they might normally have skipped, Henry said. In addition to open-ended science and engineering activities — like marble runs and K’NEX for the younger students — the classroom has two 3D printers, a green screen and a set of small rovers the middle schoolers will use for learning how to code in the second trimester.
The athletic field was renovated to become a full-size field with artificial turf. The field is used for after-school sports games, PE and recess, said Luke Nevill, the PE teacher and athletic director. OLF’s flag football and soccer teams can now compete on campus as opposed to playing offsite, he added.
“The kids love it because it’s a nice, even surface that they can run around in and just enjoy being active,” Nevill said.
The third project was the grotto with a statue of Blessed Mother and shaded picnic tables for students to gather. The area also features a memorial space for former student Lauren Bernardo, who passed away many years ago before beginning eighth grade. Bernardo’s parents continue to support the school with donations for the grotto as well as a scholarship endowment in her name, said Nicholas.