As the 2021-2022 school year comes to an end, the beginning of the construction for the new art and engineering building begins. The demolition of the current Fotos Art Center will occur sometime during the month of June, with the construction of the new building beginning in September.

The construction of the building will take place throughout the next academic year. With all of the classes that the building currently houses, a “swing space” will be constructed to house all of those classes, such as engineering and art classes.

Dr. McMahon, DeMatha’s principal, said that the construction of this swing space plans to create normal classrooms under the original gym, where the old chemical storage area was as well as the old locker rooms. He also added that the art program will be temporarily housed in the back of the original gym using two spaces until the construction is complete.

As for Mr. Travers, who uses the top floor of the Fotos building for his photography and history classes, his classes may go to the academic support center or the basement of the monastery, but this has still yet to be decided on.

When the construction of the new building is finished the classes that were once housed at the previous building will be able to return to the new building. Dr. McMahon also said that when the construction of the new Cross Center for Engineers, Arts & Robotics is complete, there will be an addition in space towards the cafeteria, as the wall that runs on the parking lot side of the cafeteria will be knocked down, adding room.

The new swing space and the construction of a new art and engineering building is an exciting time for DeMatha as the community will be looking forward to the construction of the new facilities and also the growth of the school to be able to provide new and better learning experiences for classes to come.