New Trier High School East Campus
WINNETKA — New Trier High School community members will get their first look at the new Winnetka Campus addition on October 15, as the school hosts New Trier Anew, a celebration and open house to thank community members for their support of the two-year construction project.
New Trier Township residents, alumni, parents, students and staff are invited to this special event, beginning with a dedication ceremony at 2 p.m. in Gaffney Auditorium, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony directly outside the auditorium at 2:45 p.m. An open house with self-guided tours, student entertainment and light refreshments will take place from 3-5 p.m.
Peter Blair Henry, Dean of New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business (New Trier ‘87), will give the keynote address, and international opera star Matthew Polenzani (New Trier ‘86) will perform. After the dedication ceremony, guests are invited to tour the new building and help rededicate the McGee Theatre, Ann Brierly Art Gallery and Baumann Student Center, new spaces to replace those that existed in older buildings demolished as part of the project.
“We are thrilled to welcome community members into this wonderful new addition that will serve our students with exciting teaching, learning, performance and collaboration spaces for generations to come,” said Superintendent Paul Sally. “It is only because of the support of New Trier Township residents that we were able to bring this vision to life, and we cannot wait to share this building with them.”
New Trier Anew caps a process that began in 2014, when Township residents approved the issuance of $89 million in bonds to fund the new addition, replacing three aging, inefficient and inaccessible buildings on the west side of the campus. Crews broke ground in June 2015 and completed the addition in two phases.
Phase One opened to students in the 2016-2017 school year and included the first new core academic classrooms constructed on the campus since 1957, along with a new student cafeteria, library, green roof, culinary lab and Applied Arts and Art classrooms.
Phase Two, which opened to students Sept. 7, includes three new science labs, additional academic and extra-large interdisciplinary classrooms, AV/multimedia labs, a TV and radio station and music rehearsal spaces and practice rooms. The building also includes a new studio theatre, to be named the Hayes-McCausland Theatre in memory of two former students, the new McGee Theatre, and the new Ann Brierly Gallery for professional and student exhibits.
Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Raise the Stage campaign, New Trier’s Tri-Ship and Girls’ Club and the New Trier Educational Foundation, the District was able to fully finish and outfit the Hayes-McCausland Theatre and the two green roofs. Raise the Stage raised more than $1.2 million in donations for the theatre, named after Mary Catherine Hayes ’10 and Sarah McCausland ’13. Tri-Ship and Girls’ Club contributed $100,000 for the first green roof, and the Educational Foundation has pledged $100,000 for the second green roof.
A central feature of the entire addition is a bright, skylit concourse that connects the new West Building to the existing North Building, Tower Building and Gaffney Auditorium. Two new elevators enhance accessibility to the campus for people with disabilities. The District is seeking LEED Silver Certification or higher for the entire new addition, which was designed with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind.
Attendees of the event should enter from the Gaffney Auditorium, located at the southwest corner of the campus at 385 Winnetka Ave., at 2 p.m. Guests will not be allowed into the new building until after the dedication ceremony and ribbon-cutting have ended.
Submitted by New Trier Township High School District 203