There is a familiar saying around Father McGivney Catholic High School that goes something like this, "It's a great day to be a Griffin," and it appears this saying continues to hold true.

Within the last two weeks, the Father McGivney Board of Education officially voted to move forward with its $7.5 million project to construct a new, state-of-the-art facility on the property the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois owns in Glen Carbon at the corner of Old Troy and Bouse Roads.

"It's really exciting, a feeling unlike any other, that we finally, after thousands of hours of hard work by hundreds of volunteers, staff members, and teachers, can say we are officially breaking ground on our new facility," said Mike Scholz, Father McGivney principal.

Father McGivney has been in a $5 million capital campaign for the new school since August 2013. The school officially crossed the $5 million mark in pledges, which has cleared the way for construction to take place beginning with a ceremonial groundbreaking and blessing on Sept. 22. Along with the $5 million campaign, the school has received financing from First Clover Leaf Bank in Edwardsville, which has been a supporter of the new Catholic high school since its inception.

"It's a dream come true," stated Doug Villhard, Father McGivney school board president. "But I like to remind everyone that we've had a school now for three years. All we're doing here is expanding into a permanent facility. But we're doing so because a staggering 1,300 local families donated and they did so because they support both where we are today and where we're headed. Those supporters are what motivate us every day at McGivney."

The schedule of events for Sept. 22 is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with a Mass for all Father McGivney students, its partner schools' students and pastors, its board of directors and its Founder's Board at St. Boniface Church in Edwardsville. The ceremonial groundbreaking and blessing, lead by the Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, will begin at 1 p.m. and will be open to the public. All supporters of Father McGivney are encouraged to join in this historic event. Attendees may park at the Maryville Baptist Church parking lot and take a shuttle provided by Father McGivney over to the dedication site.

"I am grateful for the spiritual generosity and profound faith that this community has displayed with regards to Father McGivney," said Father Jeff Goeckner, dean of the Alton deanery and Father McGivney board member. "With this new facility, we will be able to accommodate more students in order to provide them with a well grounded Catholic education for generations to come in our location of the Alton deanery in the Diocese of Springfield."

Father McGivney Catholic High School opened its doors in August 2012. For the current academic year, Father McGivney has an enrollment of 88 students, with more than 60 expected to register for next year. The school is currently housed in its private wing at the St. John Neumann Catholic School campus on Wilma Drive in Maryville, but is scheduled to move in to its new facility for the fall semester of 2015. The school's classrooms are equipped with 70-inch flat screen TVs to interface with the teacher's computer and wireless Internet connection. Each student receives his or her own laptop to access textbooks and complete homework assignments, quizzes, and test. The only hard cover book the students carry is the Holy Bible.