Trinity Project Is the Focus This Spring This summer, classrooms will get upgrades that can’t wait.
Update Maas Family Commons Completed and occupied in 2003 Two Apartments Constructed, One Home Renovated Projects completed in 2001. Chapel Renovation Completed by Friends of the Chapel and dedicated in 2004. Additional seating, new Blessed Sacrament Chapel, entryway and
The Golden Jubilee Campaign’s calendar has us set to crack open bottles of champagne in 2007-2008 in celebration of a major milestone—the completion of Phase One by the school’s Golden Anniversary. Of the six Phase One projects, on-campus housing and a chapel renovation are complete, and the endowment is well under way. With the Town of Portola Valley’s approval of WPS’s master plan, the design and funding of the Performing Arts Center (PAC) can hopefully move forward to a near-term groundbreaking. Now, the library and student center come into focus. The Planning Commission studied the proposed Performing Arts Center in detail. In their unanimous approval of the proposed master plan, they specified concerns about the PAC that can be addressed in the future. But, more importantly, they endorsed the concept and the essential elements—such as seating for the entire campus community and the need for a facility that compares favorably with similar schools’ facilities. The Campaign Leadership Team is reviewing what was termed the “Trinity Package” when the Golden Jubilee Campaign was launched. It includes the PAC, an improved library, and a new student center.
bell tower Trinity Project Performing Arts Center, Library and Student Center $6.1 million pledged Endowment Nearly $2.2 million is pledged towards $5 million gaol. Current effort is the drive to fund scholarships named for Priory Benedictine fathers (the “Father Funds”).
The Trinity
Why consider them a trinity? Because each depends on the other, Headmaster Tim Molak explains. Performing arts and most school assemblies currently are housed in the Assembly Hall and adjacent music room. The library cannot be improved until the PAC is complete and the Assembly Hall and music room are vacant. Those rooms, plus adjacent space, will be the library’s new home. The campus’s first-ever Student Center will be housed in the current library space. It’s a simple 1-2-3. Vacate the Assembly Hall, move the library, create the student center. With 2007 looming, the campaign leadership team will look at changes in costs since its initial estimates in 2000. Then it will look at options to bring the projects
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in on time. That may involve delaying some of the amenities until later, but hopefully not, said Wayne Davison, campaign chair. “Would we like a family or group of families to take this on with us, and have their names identified with the project at the end? You bet! I’d love to see a John Doe Family plaque in the new Benedictine Square and on the buildings. Most big projects like this come to conclusion because leaders are inspired to make it happen—rather like Louise Davies rose to the occasion and brought the symphony hall in San Francisco to groundbreaking,” he added. The Trinity Project isn’t just for people who can write big checks, though. The Campaign Leadership Team is hoping for a wide base of support, and there are plenty of ways people can participate in the upcoming year. We hope everyone will have a personal investment in the outcome, so the completion will be an amazing achievement for the whole community at the end, added Kerry Gormley, Associate Campaign Director. “Later this spring and into early fall, everyone affiliated with the Priory will receive a mailing with drawings and details of the Trinity Project. We hope that everyone will find something he or she especially cares about, and that they will help us fund it,” Ms. Gormley said. Meanwhile, the build calendar is also under scrutiny. “We are working with the PAC architects now to determine when we need to start building. The PAC is by far the biggest challenge because it involves a new structure, whereas the library and student center will be internal renovation of existing space. We will need the plans and funds in place, but the actual renovation hopefully can take place simultaneously in the last several months,”said Tim Molak, Headmaster.
Librarians Describe The Need
Peter Reinhardt and Susan Falaschi, the Priory’s librarians, say that more space and separation of space are critical to contemporary needs.
