As Cornerstone is Moved to New Location, STA's Tradition Remains Strong
August 1, 2008The first phase of a Campus Master Plan at St. Thomas has been underway at since before school ended in June. Those who drive Dover Point Road have watched the daily activities of the construction vehicles as they have proceeded to dig up every piece of pavement on the campus.
As part of this project, the school’s cornerstone has been moved to a new location near the gymnasium. When the stone was set nearly 50 years ago, His Eminence Richard Cardinal Cushing was joined by 800 onlookers at a dedication ceremony. Cemented inside the cornerstone is a list of students and faculty of St. Thomas Aquinas at that time, a history of the school, a penny and a medal.
“We have been planning this construction project for many years.” says Ron Holtz, interim Principal at St. Thomas. “The project will completely change the traffic flow of cars on and off our school campus.”
Over the years, enrollment at St. Thomas has grown to a population of over 700 students. As a result, this increase has affected the number of vehicles that arrive on campus each day and has contributed to some congestion on Dover Point Road.
“It is our highest priority to develop a campus master plan that includes the safest possible traffic pattern, addressing the issue of moving traffic onto campus, managing parking, allowing for safe pedestrian access to the school, and safe egress from the campus. We feel that the first phase of our master plan has addressed these needs.” Holtz continues, “More significant than the physical changes to our campus, we consider the moving of our cornerstone as a time to reflect on the past and future of St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Although we have physically changed the appearance of our campus, including relocating the cornerstone, our dedication to fulfilling the mission of our school, providing a rigorous Catholic college-preparatory education that focuses on the development of moral and ethical students, remains unchanged and continues to exist as our institutional cornerstone.”
St. Thomas Aquinas High School is sincerely grateful for the cooperation in planning assistance it received from the Administration of New Hampshire Catholic Charities and the Diocese of Manchester. St. Thomas is also grateful for the assistance of Paul Connolly, Civilworks of Dover, who has served as the project manager, working closely with Appledore Engineering and Severino Trucking to insure that this initial phase progresses well throughout the summer. The project is scheduled to be completed Monday, August 25 coinciding with the opening of school for the St. Thomas 9th grade class.