WB_071218

20 | July 12, 2018 | The wilmette beacon School
wilmettebeacon.com
Loyola Academy bids farewell to pool at demolition event
New aquatics
center set to open
in 2019
Submitted by Loyola
Academy
When Loyola Academy’s
new John D. Norcross
Aquatic Center
opens in Fall 2019, it will
enhance the aquatic experience
of every Rambler —
from the nonswimmer in
need of basic water safety
and swimming instruction
to the varsity swim team
member — as well as future
Ramblers and other
young people participating
in Loyola Academy summer
youth camp activities.
The Wilmette school
held a Crush the Pool predemolition
party to bid
farewell to the school’s
current 1950s era Wednesday,
June 27, in Wilmette.
Billed as the “last aquatic
adventure in our old natatorium,”
the event celebrated
the pool’s illustrious past.
The event was attended by
pool benefactors, coaches,
former swimmers, divers
and water polo players.
The new aquatic center
will house an eight-lane,
Stretch 25, “fast pool”
with wide lanes, flush-tothe-deck
gutters and two
one-meter springboards,
as well as a movable bulkhead,
which will allow simultaneous
swimming and
diving practices and faster
transitions between swimming
and diving events
during competitive meets.
The moveable bulkhead
will also enable Loyola to
host water polo games and
championship swim meets
in faster all-deep water and
allow swimmers to warm
up and cool down in the
diving area before and after
their events. Wide deck
areas around the pool will
make competitive events
more efficient and comfortable
for aquatic athletes
and officials, as well
as Ramblers and community
members participating
in instructional and recreational
programs.
The new pool will be
housed in a light-filled,
A bulldozer breaks through the first window of the old
pool building at Loyola Academy’s Crush the Pool
pre-demolition party Wednesday, June 27, in Wilmette.
Rhonda Holcomb/22nd Century Media
two-story natatorium with
separate team and physical
education locker areas,
a coaches’ office, a wet
classroom adjacent to the
pool area and advanced
mechanical systems designed
to ensure optimal
indoor air quality. A 294-
seat spectator gallery with
retractable bleachers will
enable Loyola swimming
and diving coaches and
physical education teachers
to repurpose the gallery
level as a dry classroom
between swimming and
diving meets.
Next to the John D.
Norcross (Class of 1954)
Aquatic Center, Loyola is
building a “piazza” that
will serve as a hub for
Rambler life and set the
stage for a renaissance in
arts programming, which
will culminate in the construction
of a new theater
for the performing arts
slated to be built in 2022
during Loyola’s second
phase of construction.
Inspired by the St. Ignatius
Piazza in front of
the Church of St. Ignatius
in Rome — a place
where ideas, the arts and
the Church’s faith traditions
have all flourished
in community since 1728
— Loyola’s piazza will be
a welcoming place where
students and members of
the larger Loyola community
can come together
to converse, collaborate,
create and celebrate their
faith.
Conceived as a flexible,
light-filled space that will
connect the new aquatic
center to our West Gym,
athletic lobby, interior
courtyard and academic
wings, the piazza will be
equipped with furnishings
that can be rearranged to
accommodate a variety of
needs.
“When our new piazza
is completed in Fall
2019, it will be a welcoming
place that will serve
not only as a place where
people will cross paths on
their way to other parts of
the school, but as a destination
where students can
meet to participate in afterschool
study sessions, collaborate
with their fellow
Ramblers on class projects,
or simply enjoy an
impromptu conversation
with friends,” Executive
Vice President Dennis R.
Stonequist said. “Although
this new space will not be
lavish in terms of finishes
or furnishings, it will be
a rich experience. The piazza
will serve the entire
Loyola community—with
students, families, alumni
and friends gathering there
before and after school
events or to celebrate the
arts and cultural happenings
such as musical and
theatrical performances,
art exhibits, poetry readings,
open-mic sessions
and more.”
As the new aquatic center
and piazza make their
transition from vision to
reality, Loyola is also rerouting
its drop-off and
pickup lanes to improve
traffic flow.
Rotary Club of Wilmette recognizes scholarship winners
Submitted by The Rotary
Club of Wilmette
The Rotary Club of
Wilmette awarded 2018
scholarships to six outstanding
students from
New Trier, Loyola Academy
and Regina Dominican
high schools.
For 37 years, the Rotary
Club of Wilmette has honored
local students with
academic scholarships.
Nominations come from
their college counselors
who praise students for
leadership, responsibility,
work ethic, creativity and
making the world a better
place to live.
Four scholarships were
presented by club youth
chair Jackie Granat to
New Trier High School
students Rachael Barich,
attending Occidental College,
Natalia Semaniuk,
attending DePaul University,
Jose Chavez, attending
the University of Illinois/Urbana
Champaign
(recipient of Jack Lehman
Scholarship) and Roselyn
Andromeda Co, attending
the University of Illinois-
Urbana Champaign.
The Loyola Academy
winner is Daniel Hadley
attending the University
of Alabama. The Regina
Dominican winner is
Adrienne Donahue attending
Marquette University
The Rotary Club of
Wilmette was founded in
1924 and conducts international,
community, vocational,
youth and club
service projects. Members
meet noon Wednesdays at
the Wilmette Golf Club.
For information, check
www.wilmetterotary.org
or Facebook: Rotary Club
of Wilmette.
Jackie Granat (left), club youth chair of the Rotary Club of Wilmette, presents
scholarship awards to New Trier High School students Rachael Barich, attending
Occidental College, Natalia Semaniuk, attending DePaul University, Jose Chavez,
attending the University of Illinois/Urbana Champaign (recipient of Jack Lehman
Scholarship) and Roselyn Andromeda Co, attending the University of Illinois/Urbana
Champaign. Photo submitted