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	Cardinal Mahony to Bless the New Mary Star High It Took More Than a Decade to Complete New Campus, Which Will Reduce the Student Waiting List By Paul Clinton Daily Breeze September 30, 2007 http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/10125941.html?showAll=y&c=y Mary Star of the Sea High School's new campus enters the final stage of a 13-year construction odyssey Sunday, when Cardinal Roger Mahony blesses a building expected to house students by Christmas. Church leaders and volunteers who managed the project said they're looking forward to students flowing into new classrooms, a gymnasium and locker rooms, an art room, a computer room and science labs. "I would describe it as a sense of accomplishment," said Al DiRocco, chairman of the steering committee for the new campus. "It's been a difficult project in some ways, but we've gone over every hurdle." DiRocco, the sole remaining member of the initial committee, remembers starting work on the project when his daughter was a ninth-grader at Mary Star. That same daughter graduated from college five years ago. In that time, the parish's bid to replace its campus - and to eliminate a 150-person waiting list - has faced numerous delays in construction, fundraising and gaining approval from Mahony for an $8 million loan. About 470 students now attend the Catholic high school, a landmark on Eighth Street and Cabrillo Avenue since 1951. Work is nearly complete on the 60,000-square-foot campus built on 27 acres of surplus federal property at the northern tip of Taper Avenue. Students will begin classes at the two-story school after it receives its occupancy permit from the city of Los Angeles, said the Rev. Nicholas Tacito, the school's rector. The campus was initially scheduled to open in 2000. Parish officials declined to provide the Daily Breeze access to see or photograph the new campus. Parish officials are finishing work on a U-shaped building with 23 classrooms, administrative offices and two science labs. An open courtyard between two classroom wings serves as a passway between classrooms. Student lockers line the wings. Larger windows have already created a more airy feel in the new space, said Lauren Costa, an 11th-grader and Mary Star Fiesta Queen. "I'm liking the idea of open lockers, because it builds community," Costa said. "(Wider windows) give the rooms a bigger quality. It makes it a better learning environment." A spacious interim gymnasium replaces a multipurpose room for basketball and volleyball games. Bleachers retract with the push of a button. Two electronic scoreboards will record sports tallies. The campus would also, for the first time, give girls a full locker room with showers. Sunday's dedication marks the completion of a $22 million first phase. The parish also plans to build athletic fields with bleachers for football, baseball and softball. Future plans call for a new multipurpose room with a kitchen, a performing arts area and a chapel. A permanent gymnasium, a weight room and a student services area would also be added. On Sunday, Mahony will sprinkle holy water on the new building to symbolically initiate it into the Mary Star community. "It's a big deal," Costa said. "It's like christening a kid." A whiff of protest could work its way toward the event. A group representing survivors of priest abuse sent a letter to Mahony and Monsignor Patrick Gallagher of Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests asked for a forum for one or two victims to speak at the event. The group also asked Mary Star to display a handmade quilt with childhood photos of more than 160 victims in front of the church's altar. Mary Grant, the regional director, said the group had not received a response. When classes begin at the new campus, parents will use Taper Avenue to drop off and pick up students under an agreement between the school and local homeowners signed a year ago. San Pedro Peninsula Homeowners United agreed to the plan, under the condition that the school eventually cut a road leading to Western Avenue. The Los Angeles Unified campuses of Taper Avenue Elementary and Cooper Opportunity High School already cause congestion, said Chuck Hart, the group's president. "Those three schools are all within one block of each other," Hart said. "There are major concerns for traffic impacts when all three schools are essentially trying to get to the same destination all around the same time." Councilwoman Janice Hahn's office said the city would require the road from Western in any project built on land now owned by Bob Bisno. "There has always been an understanding that an access road for Mary Star will be included in any project built on the Ponte Vista site," Hahn said. "We have been very clear that this is a priority, and Mr. Bisno has committed to making it a part of Ponte Vista." WANT TO GO? WHAT: Cardinal Roger Mahony's blessing of the new Mary Star of the Sea building WHEN: 4 p.m. Sunday WHERE: Mary Star High School, 2500 N. Taper Ave., San Pedro paul.clinton@dailybreeze.com
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