Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is pleased to announce the groundbreaking of a new gymnasium and renovating the current gym into a state of the art performing arts building.
The event was held on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 11:45 a.m. at the Middle/High School campus located at 5350 Vaughn Road, Montgomery, Alabama 36116.
The Most Reverend Thomas J. Rodi, Archbishop of Mobile; Gwendolyn P. Byrd Executive Director, Department of Catholic Education Archdiocese of Mobile; Michele Manry, Executive Director Financial Services Archdiocese of Mobile; Earl Ryser, Owner, Central Contracting, Inc.; and Anne Ceasar Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School President were special guests at the event.
Reverend Monsignor Charles Troncale opened the event in prayer, while Montgomery Catholic’s Middle/High School principal Mr. Justin Castanza hosted the event. Mrs. Tia Levanda, MCPS Advisory Council Chair read 1 Corinthians 3:5-11.
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| Tia Levanda |
Each MCPS campus was represented with members from the SGA who participated in the signing ceremony and blessing of the building site by Archbishop Rodi. The students were: Aaron Gilbert, St. Bede Campus Student Council President; Mally Barranco, Holy Spirit Campus Student Council President; Gibson Souriya, Middle School SGA President; Paige Rentfro, High School SGA President; and Chloe Newell, Senior Class President.
Other distinguished guests included: Reverend Victor Ingalls, Reverend Nicholas Napolitano, Reverend Alex Valladares, Holy Spirit Campus Principal Nancy Foley, St. Bede Campus Principal Laurie Gulley, Middle School Assitant Principal Julie Wood, Athletic Director Daniel Veres, Band Director Alex Johnson,and Seawell McKee, McKee and Associates Architecture and Interior Design who were joined by the Capital Campaign volunteers, parents, students and larger Montgomery Catholic community. All were happy to witness the start of the project with Archbishop Rodi’s blessing of the work site.
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| MCPS Administration on Groundbreaking Day Principal Nancy Foley, Principal Laurie Gulley, Principal Justin Castanza, President Anne Ceasar, Athletic Director Daniel Veres, Band Director Alex Johnson Assistant Principal Julie Wood |
Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School’s capital campaign, Building on Faith, Family and Tradition raised over $3.5 million dollars in just eleven months, allowing Montgomery Catholic to look towards the future and realize the dream of a new 31,000 square foot gymnasium with stadium seating and capacity for 800. The gym will have two regulation basketball courts, a weight room, concession area, offices, locker rooms and conference rooms. The Montgomery community will find much comfort in knowing that the facility will be air conditioned – a luxury the current Father Pat Delahunty gym (built in 1968) does not have.
Along with building a new gym, plans also include converting the current gymnasium into a dedicated performing arts building to enhance our entire performing arts program. This area will be completely remodeled and create critically needed practice, storage and office space for our highly regarded band program and emerging choral program. More space means students will be able to better focus on all aspects of their practice. It will also increase the breadth of our performing arts program to include a state-of-the-art choral/drama classroom. This will allow us to provide a vibrant and supportive environment for current and future students with an affinity for the performing arts. A high school student lounge and meeting space will also be added looking onto the courtyard, giving Montgomery Catholic students a comfortable meeting space on campus.
Founded in 1873, by the Sisters of Loretto Montgomery Catholic Preparatory school celebrates 144 years of Catholic education in Montgomery this month. Founded as an all girl’s school, St. Mary of Loretto became co-educational in 1929. The high school moved to its current location in 1965. The last expansion at the campus was in 2007 with the addition of the Dolly Barranco Student Activity Center and Cafeteria. Today, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is a K4-12 college preparatory program, with an average student enrollment of 800 at three campuses in Montgomery.
Mission: Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is an integral part of the Catholic Church’s mission to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. As an adult community, we share in the responsibility to prepare students for college and beyond while helping them to grow to become persons of faith, virtue, and wisdom.
