CHARLOTTE — As the school year gets under way, Our Lady of the Assumption students and faculty are enjoying updated and separate spaces to eat, play and enjoy hands-on learning.
Thanks to a $430,000 grant from an anonymous donor, several areas inside the school were converted last summer from multi-purpose areas to designated spaces for students and faculty to use – most notably, a 2,400-square-foot “cafetorium,” renovated gym and library, and updated “Makerspace.”
Two classrooms were converted to create the cafetorium, which includes the school’s first equipped kitchen. The space gives the school a place to prepare meals and for students to eat and listen to presentations. OLA can now offer a breakfast program for students, thanks to the new cafetorium.
Principal Allana Ramkissoon said she is pleased OLA now has the ability to offer a “take and go” breakfast program for students.
“We always wanted to have breakfast program for the students who came to school in need of breakfast,” she said.
Nicole Francis, a seventh-grader, came to OLA six years ago. She likes the new cafetorium and the breakfast program.
“Everything is different. I love it, actually!” she said. “There are a lot of kids that don’t get breakfast, so it’s nice that we can go get a small breakfast before class.”
The OLA renovation also created a separate space for gym class, apart from the cafeteria.
Sixth-grader Givonne Wright, who has attended OLA for six years, appreciates the separation. “Before, it took basically forever because we had P.E. and lunch in the gym. You would have to wait until the floors dried before you could have lunch in there. Now our schedule is better and easier.”
OLA’s library also underwent extensive renovation to allow for comfortable seating and work tables to accommodate a STEM lab. It also houses an audiovisual room where students can broadcast announcements and work on broadcast communications skills.
The updated “Makerspace” provides students a creative space to learn through hands-on projects.
“Our focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) will continue to drive our school program over the next few years,” Ramkissoon said. “We’re encouraging teachers to build into their lessons the idea of creating something. The area is set up for creation and collaboration.”
A portion of the anonymous funds also went towards hardware, software and digital network upgrades.
Ramkissoon said she is grateful to the anonymous donor and for additional funding from the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools budget that helped pay for the gym renovation, so students can run and play on improved surfaces. The gym now boasts a stage space for drama and musical performances.
“Working with the parish to ensure that all students have equal access to the curriculum and that everyone’s needs are met is an important part of the school’s mission. We are very excited about the changes and upgrades to various aspects of our school. We believe that continuous improvement is the key to success,” she said.
Ramkissoon added that many of the improvements were made with the community’s needs in mind as well as stu-dents’ needs, because the parish plans to use the spaces for meetings and gatherings.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
CHARLOTTE — The public phase for a capital campaign is expected to start next year to raise money for a long-awaited fine arts center which would serve all of the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools.
The MACS Office, the Charlotte Catholic High School Development Office and the Diocese of Charlotte Development Office are collaborating on plans for the fine arts center, which would be located on the campus of Charlotte Catholic High School. It would serve the MACS schools and be available to the wider community.
Since Charlotte Catholic High School moved to its present location on Pineville-Matthews Road in 1995, school leaders have recognized the need for providing a dedicated fine arts facility.
Especially as the award-winning chorus, band, theater and visual arts programs at MACS schools have grown, space has become more limited.
“After years of hard work and careful planning, we are very excited about this much needed expansion,” said Kurt Telford, principal of Charlotte Catholic High School.
Telford stressed that the expansion will benefit all students and families by enhancing other programs at the high school.
“Classrooms currently used for visual and performing arts courses will be freed up for other academic and athletic uses,” Telford said. “In addition, a renovation and expansion of athletic facilities adjacent to the gymnasium is a part of the overall plan.”
The last time a fine arts center at Charlotte Catholic High School was considered was in 2011, when planning was also under way for the high school’s stadium renovation and parking deck. The stadium renovation and parking deck were completed in 2015.
Plans call for the MACS capital fee to provide $15 million of the project’s total projected $23.3 million cost.
The approximately 54,000-square-foot, two-story building would house a 650-seat auditorium and a high-quality performance and exhibit space for MACS students. It would also house two art studios and a band room, broadcast studio, ceramics studio, dance studio, dark room and digital lab, photography lab, stage and theater.
Charlotte Catholic’s visual and performing arts classes would move to the new center, freeing up space in the existing high school building for regular classrooms as well as space for a weight room, wrestling room and additional academic uses.
The fine arts center would be located on the site of a gravel parking lot, adjacent to the current gymnasium wing of the high school.
Jim Kelley, diocesan development director, noted that the schools have not conducted a major regional capital campaign since the mid-1990s, when Charlotte Catholic was relocated.
The decision to proceed with the capital campaign was a collective decision made by the Diocese of Charlotte, MACS and Charlotte Catholic leadership after conducting a planning study. Ninety-four percent of personal interview participants demonstrated support for a capital campaign.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
