thereview VOL. 64, ISSUE 7
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL
MAY 2013
SKETCHING THE FUTURE
Plans for Great Hall revealed, construction to commence spring 2014 BY IMAN CHARANIA AND ALYYAH MALICK
Construction on the Great Hall project is tentatively scheduled to begin in April 2014 and will require sacrifices from the school community, yet cornbread muffins will not be among the casualties. Director of Finance and Operations Greg Swan said that the first stage of the construction will be the demolition of Winston Hall. The school wants the construction finished by August 2015. Final confirmation of the groundbreaking date will come in July. While the architectural firm, Curtis and Windham, develops schematics into construction designs for the Great Hall, the administrative team, including Headmaster Mark Desjardins, the heads of all divisions, deans and counselors, have met to discuss how the school will operate during construction. To cope with the loss of key areas of the school housed in Winston, including the cafeteria, the administration has been considering ideas like setting up a tent with a portable kitchen on the plaza, borrowing the kitchen of St. John the Divine or bringing in food trucks. All food service staff will be retained. There will be other sacrifices. The North Gate on Claremont, which is used for carpool in the circle area, will be closed, and there will no longer be parking in the Claremont and Mewbourne lots. “We’ll have to do carpool on the South Campus. We’re thinking about small changes in Lower School start time just to ease congestion,” Swan said. Middle School carpools may enter through Gate 12 to the senior lot, so Gate 9 on Alabama would be reserved for Lower and Upper School students. Those who park on the North Campus in the Claremont and Mewbourne lots may park on the newly purchased Taub land. “It’s a godsend for us to have this land. There’s plenty of room to park; it just won’t be as close as it was before the construction,” Swan said. One of the issues that has caused the most consternation among students is the loss of Senior Country for the Class of 2015. Swan talked to Dean Steve Popp and knows students are concerned about parking and about Senior Country. “Change is difficult. I’d ask them to look at the positive. We’re trying to anticipate every challenge, but I’m confident that we won’t anticipate every one. We’ll just have to deal with things as they come,” he said. Administrators will continue to meet with Student Affairs Council members to converse about the effects construction will have on the school. “I think it’ll be important to have good dialogue and discussion,” Desjardins said. “Let’s have a discussion on ways we can look for alternative venues or alternative areas, so that we can minimize impact.” During construction, those displaced from Winston, like College Counseling and Admissions, will move to other locations on campus. College Counseling and Admissions will take over the Advancement and Business Office spaces in the Quad, while the Business Office and Advancement move off campus, possibly to an office space near the school or to the Taub property. Continued on Page 3
DRAWINGS BY CURTIS & WINDHAM ARCHITECTS
A new look Winston Hall, which currently contains the cafeteria, art rooms, Senior Country, Admissions and College Counseling, will be demolished next year to make way for the Great Hall. The top two pictures are side and aerial views, respectively, from Claremont Lane (the building on the far right of the middle image is Mewbourne Hall). The new building will include a larger dining hall, as pictured in the bottom image.
CENTERSPREAD A look at the school’s most viral social media sensation
thisedition
NEWS FEATURES ENTERTAINMENT BEYOND CENTERSPREAD OPINIONS SPORTS ODDS & ENDS
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