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The Campaign for Saint Louis Priory School We are excited to officially announce Priory’s capital campaign - Building on the Promise. This $10 million campaign will make a quick and impressive impact on the landscape of our facilities. All the improvements mentioned below will be completed by the beginning of the 2009-10 school year. This is an ambitious goal, and the support of the entire Priory community is needed to make it a success.
Addition and Renovation to the Junior School
In April 2005, the Class-Size Task Force recommended a set size reduction with a maximum of 20 students per set in the Junior School and 18 in the High School. As a result, there became a need for additional facilities in the Junior School: two additional classrooms, faculty office space, a commons area that could accommodate the entire Junior School, and an additional science lab with both lecture and lab space. Since the useful life of the Singer House and Singer House Annex is limited, the fine arts studio spaces, photography and stained glass, that are currently housed in these locations, will need to be moved to the new addition. Renovations, such as restroom upgrades, improved lighting, fresh paint and consistent window treatments, will unify the look between the current and new section of the Junior School.
Renovation and Addition to Gymnasium
The March 2006 Facilities Report noted that the School Administration, Admission and Athletic Departments believed that the gymnasium was out of date and not in keeping with the facilities provided by other competitive schools. While the overall condition of the facility is functional, the general appearance is tired. The main entrance and public restrooms are not up to accessibility standards. Every locker is fully utilized, and the increase in the Junior School enrollment will create bottlenecks in the locker facilities. Currently, the visiting team lockers are in the original public restroom, and there are no lockers for referees. Both the student showers and the coaches’ restroom facilities need renovation. The weight room accommodates approximately 30 students, and it needs to be able to accommodate 60 students. In the multi-purpose gym, the floor is no longer resilient, the lighting is poor, and the suspended track needs to be resurfaced. The mechanical systems need upgrading including the heating and ventilation. General maintenance needs include roofing, spot tuck pointing, as well as the replacement of some doorways and exterior walks. All of these deficiencies will be corrected in addition to a few other improvements. A new, expanded weight room with both cardio and weight equipment will be added to provide an area for strength and conditioning. There will also be a team planning room with video and presentation capability for athletic instruction and a medical training area for all teams to use. The gymnasium entrance will be expanded and reconfigured to better accommodate drop-off and pick-up of students. The gymnasium complex will be air conditioned.
Athletic Fields
The concept of creating an “athletic complex” which would consolidate Priory athletics and create higher visibility was developed. As a result of all the field discussions, the following plan was developed. The Junior School field will become a “Priory only” field. It will receive irrigation and Bermuda grass. The current varsity soccer field will become a practice field and the primary field for St. Anselm soccer and parish events. The parking issue will be resolved with parking lots adjacent to the Parish Center. All of the Priory varsity fields will be consolidated within an athletic complex. A new varsity soccer field will be constructed adjacent to the current baseball field and football practice field. The current football practice field will expand into the tree line making it one and a half the size of a regulation football field. The baseball field will be removed and rebuilt with a complete renovation. The new field will have irrigation, dugouts, bleachers and a permanent fence in the outfield. An eco-fill synthetic turf will be put on the current varsity football field. Stadium-like improvements will also be made. This includes the construction of a grandstand, renovation of the press box, addition of storage areas, concessions and restrooms. Additional parking will be made available south of the current gym parking. This will serve as event access for staff, handicapped accessibility, and emergency access. This increases the parking count from 80 to 160 cars.
Changes in Timeline due to the Current State of the Economy
The current state of the economy has severely affected all of us, and while Saint Louis Priory School has clearly received the enthusiastic support from a wide spectrum of our constituents, it is evident that the capacity of many individuals to support our efforts has been significantly limited. Thus, we are faced with the situation where raising sufficient funds to cover the costs of our construction projects is proving to be more difficult than we had anticipated.
Saint Louis Priory School is committed to seeing through to completion the entire project. However, prudence dictates that we be somewhat cautious about how we move forward. We must move ahead with those parts of the plan that are already "in the ground" - the Junior School and Gymnasium. To best serve the interests of our students, we will also proceed with the planned renovations of the existing Junior School and Gymnasium buildings. The one component of the project that we can prduently defer until we secure further funding is the Grandstand for the Game Field. The design for the facility is complete, and we will have the necessary permits to go ahead with construction. Everything will be in place to allow us to move forward, once the funding is secured. We continue to seek funding as actively and as enthusiastically as ever.
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