The Science Building

In the beginning of the summer of 2015, Cistercian started a 10 million dollar campaign for the renovation of the Science Building. The Fifth Form science teacher, Mr. Tim Parker (’90), worked day and night on this project while also fulfilling his teaching duties. The steering committee consists of Mike Donohoe (‘80), Charles Lipscomb (‘84), Mark Roppolo (‘88), Jan Mitura, and Andrea Clay. They helped raise the money needed for the science building and organized the project as a whole. Mike Donohoe and Charles Lipscomb are also a part of the school board along with another Cistercian alumni, Peter Smith (‘74), and Kent Clay.

The ten-million dollar renovation brought a lot of changes to the building. The new additions include the new flex lab and the awesome egg drop platform. Another change they made was to get rid of the ceiling so that the students can see the ventilation and everything that goes on behind (or above) the scenes. The alumni involvement in this project was astounding as both the architect, Gary Cunningham (’72), and the landscape designer, David Hocker (‘96),  both graduated from Cistercian. Overall, the project’s staff was as Cistercian as the building itself.

The building was dedicated on the November 10, 2017. All of the students gathered outside the science building doors as Fr. Paul thanked all those who had contributed to the completion of this massive project. He then introduced Fr. Abbot Peter, who dedicated the building. He topped it off by scattering Holy Water onto the building and then the crowd. As a treat to mark this moment, every Form got ice cream sandwiches to enjoy before dismissal.

However, the work on our Cistercian campus is not over, and there are still new things to look forward to in the coming year. Cistercian will be installing solar panels on the Science Building and the New Gym in order to help reduce energy costs. Along with that, there will be a small windmill and water harvester for the student use. Even with new additions still in the works, the Science Building is a gorgeous new part of the Cistercian experience. The dedication the alumni and families made to sponsor its creation will hopefully be repaid a hundred times over in the knowledge the faculty passes on to each student in the years to come.