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St. Mary’s opens new fine arts facility
By Ambria Hammel, The Catholic Sun
November 15, 2007
Even though the school year is well underway, hundreds of St. Mary’s High School students stepped into a new classroom Nov. 1.
That’s when the school’s Virginia G. Piper Education Center — the campus’ new fine arts and foreign language hub — officially opened its doors.
“Everything has gone very smoothly,” said Nick D’Arcangelo, one of 22 staff members who moved into the $8-million facility.
Principal Mark Mauro agreed, crediting the easy changeover to student and staff preparation.
Teachers who moved to the three-story building took their students on a tour of it the week before it opened for classes. That helped create a level of comfort for teachers and students, Mauro said, even though the 35,000-square-foot center sits across the street from the main campus.
Students attended a school-wide assembly the day before classes began to address traveling safely across the street. Part of the strategy includes a full-time security guard who monitors the crosswalk. Mauro said the school administration hopes to close the street early next year.
“It will help bring the campus together as one facility,” Mauro said.
The building marks the campus’ third addition since moving to its present location in the 1980s. It provides room for five teachers who didn’t have their own permanent space.
The education center also features a theater, a first for St. Mary’s. D’Arcangelo said the 270-seat theater, which extends from the basement level to the ground floor, is the center’s best feature.
“It’s beautiful,” D’Arcangelo said. “It’s really great to have our own theater because now we don’t have to find space.”
He used to coordinate with performance schedules at Xavier College Preparatory’s theater or a nearby community theater for dress rehearsals and performances. He typically only had two weeks to coordinate lighting and sets.
“I have a lot more time to work on the technical side of the plays,” D’Arcangelo said.
Senior Lane Gallett also likes having a theater on campus. The students have been rehearsing in it for a couple of weeks.
“We were really getting anxious about it,” she said. The senior class knew as freshmen that the center was in their future.
The education center has three state-of-the-art computer labs, which give students more workspace. Computer teacher Ken Combs said the set up also helps him more closely monitor student activity.
The band and choir room gives those students more space including private rehearsal rooms. Those areas double as makeup rooms for theatrical performances.
“There’s been a lot of excitement about the move, a feeling of a sense of accomplishment,” Mauro said.
The school’s administration hopes to accomplish more in the future. Extra classrooms in the education center will allow the school to increase enrollment. Plans are also underway for a baseball and softball complex.
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