Page 3 - Priorities #25 2004-January

From the Headmaster • Landscaping on Red Square to create
a bigger, more useful Benedictine Square.
In the final phase, we would add the last on-campus housing, bringing the total to 32 units. Phases two and three are tentatively scheduled for completion in 2010.
Three concerns were overriding for us in making this plan—academic excellence,
fiscal stability, and our role within the Portola Valley general plan. The facilities changes we are requesting are needed to support the program we have today—a contemporary one, in keeping with expectations of highly regarded college prep schools. The facilities and on-site housing together are needed to attract and retain the best faculty.
As I watch this plan coming to fruition, I feel much
as I think the first monks felt as they stood on a bare hillside in the late 1950s and envisioned a school for the future. Their plan lasted more than 30 years (with some modifications along the way). I can’t predict what future decades will bring, but I feel strongly that this plan
will secure Benedictine education at the Priory into the forseeable future.
I hope you share my feeling of satisfaction with where the Priory has come and where it is going. You have the right—if you are getting this magazine, you are part of the community that brought us to this point.
There are many more facets to our plans for the future than will fit on a page. If you would like
to know more, check the campaign Web site at www.woodsidepriory.com/campaign/. To access a “frequently asked questions” brochure prepared by the Trustees’ Community Relations Committee, click on “master plan” under Overview on the navigation bar. Or contact me or Pat Reed and we will mail a copy of that brochure and other literature to you.
Sincerely,
Tim Molak, Headmaster
Dear Parents and Guardians,
This is an exciting time. After literally years of preparation, the Priory’s updated master plan
is ready. As current parents already know, we filed for approval with the Town of Portola Valley in October, and we have had preliminary meetings with town officials and near neighbors.
Feedback so far has been gratifying. I have the sense that most of the people who attended a meeting are favorably impressed and that any concerns can be answered with information we collected in the preparation process. I hope this continues to be the case. The approval process will be delayed a little because Portola Valley Town Council needs to appoint one more planning commissioner; however, I hope we can gain approval this spring.
We have talked a great deal in Priorities about the need for a Performing Arts Center. I’d like to lay out for you, though, the entire scope of the maser plan. Phase one, with a target completion date of 2007, includes:
• Performing arts auditorium and classrooms,
• Improved and expanded library/media center, to be located in the current Assembly Hall, Music Room and Computer Center area,
• Student center, to be located under the Dining Hall where the library is currently located,
• Added parking, and rerouting of car traffic outside the academic area for safety.
In phase two, we would add:
• Additional on-site housing,
• A basketball court and fitness center expansion to the gym
• Faculty offices and classrooms to replace current, old faculty building and temporary structures on Red Square,
3
Three overriding concerns guided
the master plan— academic excellence, fiscal stability, and our role within the Portola Valley general plan.