Student life advances with the new St. Mary's

By Maggie Akers

St. Mary’s girls have been waiting in anticipation for the new building since the fall of 2017, and its opening will finally be in January 2020. The old site of the Barth Gym will become the new Athletic and Wellness Center, home to a host of different athletic facilities including McNeill Family Gymnasium, a new dining hall and several much-needed new classrooms. Philip and Mabel McNeill and their family named the gym; they are the grandparents of 7th grader McCall Ward.

Although the new facility will no longer hold the Barth name, there will be a connector between the Taylor building and the new building called Barth Bridge. The Barth name comes from Dr. Theodore N. Barth, the rector of Calvary Church in the 1940s; Calvary Church grew into Holy Communion in 1948.

One of the most anticipated aspects of the new building is the Athletic and Wellness Center, which will have a training room and a trainer to assist students with conditioning. Since construction started in 2017, the lacrosse, volleyball, track and field, basketball and bowling teams have gone to work out at the East Memphis Athletic Center (EMAC).

Attending EMAC workouts has improved St. Mary’s athletics, but in the future, sports programs will be able to implement more changes to further upgrade St. Mary’s teams with a state-of-the-art facility on campus. 

When the new building opens, sports teams will have the opportunity to increase their workout requirements. Currently, Ms. Seebeck, the Health and Wellness Instructor at St. Mary’s and Coach Bartholomew, Head of the Athletic Department, are developing a plan so athletes can complete workouts during the school day instead of only in the mornings and afternoons.

The Athletic and Wellness Center will also improve the basketball and volleyball programs because they will not have to walk across the street for practice and home games.

Coach Bartholomew explains, “Going across the street tends to make practices start later and end later. So this will also help athletes be able to do their homework sooner. As a result, all practices will be over at 5:30.” Having practices done earlier will benefit students’ education and rest. 

When it rains, outdoor sports will also have a place to practice instead of running through the hallways of St. Marys. 

Currently, when it rains during outdoor sports, teams are forced to run or work out in the hallways. Track athlete Allie Burkhart (9) described the discomfort, “Running in the halls was not that bad, but there were many obstacles and it got confusing at times.” 

Crowds will be bigger because the facility will be more convenient for students and teachers to attend games. 

Students who don’t participate in a sport can still benefit from this new space. The new building will also house a cafeteria, classrooms and the gobble gear store. Students can take electives such as yoga for PE credit as well.

In January, the school will celebrate the grand opening with community celebrations. The Wellness Center will host its grand opening 

for faculty and students on January 24th, and a family event will be held on January 25th so that everyone else can see it. 

Ms. Seebeck, the Mind and Body Wellness teacher, expressed her excitement for the new gym, “Oh gosh. I think you guys know more than I do. I just am excited to have plants in my room! Oh, and I can't wait to practice my hoops, ya know what I'm saying. basketball.”