Campaign Update

U pdate

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 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”).

Trinity Project Is the Focus This Spring This summer, classrooms will get upgrades that can’t wait.

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.

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 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.

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“Our current library is designed for everything to take place within four walls. The reality is that we have conflicting uses. Classes meet in the library to learn research methods or work on a technology-based assignment. At the same time, we have individuals who need a quiet space for study and small groups who need space to discuss their project. We need space for tutors to meet with students. We need better protection for our rare books and shelf space for new books,” they explain.

The library’s strength is its contemporary and ever-expanding collection. Teachers’ requests for library materials are nearly always filled, and students can nearly always find what they need on the shelf or through an interlibrary loan. The range of online databases and full-text articles is admirable.

“By making use of adjacent facilities—the Assembly Hall, the music room and some additional space, we can meet all of our needs, “ Peter said.

Students will enter from the patio outside the music room, one of the most beautiful places on the campus. The facilities, and especially the new lobby, could reflect that ambiance, with exhibits that tempt visitors to linger and an enclosed garden patio that encourages relaxed reading.

“It can be a facility that really reflects the value we place on the full range of “reading,” from pleasure reading in a comfy chair, to respecting and using the information collected in books, to accessing the best in online research,” Susan said.

Students Describe The Ideal Center

Middle and High School students met with Headmaster Tim Molak to brainstorm their vision of the ideal student center. While the headmaster mentioned such needs as being protected from the weather (currently, students meet outdoors or in the library), students’ thoughts ranged to these possibilities:

• Adultsthatstudentswanttoreachfrequently, such as the college counselor and Dean of

Students, might have offices in or near the student center.

• Studentpublicationsandstudentgovernment could work side by side and share resources.

The new library and technology center could be an academic jewel, with the new entryway facing one of the most beautiful plazas and views on the campus and with the amenities that contemporary education demands. This sketch illustrates just one possible design.

Classrooms Will Have New Technology This Summer “Classroom renovation can’t wait,” said Mr. Molak. Using the school’s annual capital improvement budget rather than campaign funds, every classroom this summer will get a ceiling-mounted projector to facilitate computer-based presentations. Rooms 1-15 will get a “makeover” involving new carpets, paint, ceiling fans, lighting, and whiteboards or “smartboards” that facilitate computer-based learning (See pages 4-5).

“Phase Two of the Campaign includes a goal of completely rebuilding the interiors of all classrooms, and that goal is still important,” Mr. Molak said.

• Thebookstoreandsnackserviceoughttobethere

Relaxed and comfortable areas to talk, read, or brainstorm—including an outdoor patio to use when weather is good—made students’ eyes light up.

Architects are just beginning the process of defining and detailing a potential student center. It’s still in the dream phase and anything is possible.

The Golden Jubilee Committee has been formed, and plans are in the works for a terrific celebration. “I would love to toast our success with Dom Perignon— that classic champagne named for the Benedictine monk who created it,” the Headmaster said. —C. Dobervich

Belated Thanks to Betsy and John

In the Annual Report printed last fall, Betsy Haehl and John Kriewall should have been listed under the Golden Jubilee giving level of $250,000 to $499,999. We appreciate the many ways in which John and Betsy support the school and regret this error. –Development Office

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WPS Directors Enjoy the Ambiance!

The monks who compose the Priory Board of Directors relax by a cheery fire in the Father Christopher Room following a late-winter meeting. Pictured here (from left) are Father Mark Cooper, Board Chair Ray Rothrock, Father William Sullivan, Headmaster Tim Molak, Abbot Matthew Leavy, Brother Edward Englund and Father Martin Mager. Alumni and families from the Priory’s earlier years may remember Abbot Matthew and Father Mark, who were members of the campus community at that time, and Father William, who was Prior at WPS from 1985 to 1997. All three keep in close touch with the campus via phone and email, and travel frequently from St. Anselm Abbey to visit the school.

Woodside Priory School 302 Portola Road Portola Valley, CA 94028 (650) 851-8221 fax (650) 851-2839

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