HUNTERSVILLE — The Crusaders’ school spirit filled the halls of Christ the King High School’s newly completed expansion wing during Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“Christ the King was founded on faith and reason. Pope John Paul II wrote that faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of the truth,”
President Shaileen Riginos said. “Today, we open a new academic wing. May it be one more way our students rise toward truth.”
Throughout the event, the student body broke out in song, dance and applause, honoring the original campus and the new addition – celebrating the twin wings, old and new, and the 15th anniversary of the building, which opened in 2011.
The $12 million Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools educational expansion project marked the largest building initiative CTK has undergone in its short history.
The school that began humbly with 27 students was maxed to capacity this academic year with 453 students. Now, thanks to the addition, the building will be able to accommodate as many as 650 Crusaders.
School leaders, students and parents toured the new facilities, which were blessed moments before by Campus Chaplain Father John Cuppett.
The 17,000-square-foot space created a new rear entrance for the school. The main doors open into a spacious lobby that features a Crusaders spirit store, a concession stand and a new trophy case. The lobby branches out to two hallways on the left and right before attaching to the rear gym entrance.
The hallway on the left leads to a new weight room – filled with new equipment – and a large band room. The hallway on the right features to two new classrooms, one of which house language arts while the other is shared by Spanish and performing arts classes. Further down the right hall there is a new design lab outfitted with woodworking tools for the industrial shop, woodworking and fine arts classes.
“This gives students enough space to spread out and gives more opportunities for these guys to learn all different things,” Sara Aiello, a parent with three children enrolled at Christ the King, said. “This will give different avenues for kids to explore different interests.”
The end of the hall opens into a new cafeteria, which holds 275 students, an attached commercial kitchen, and an outdoor 50-seat eatery. The original cafeteria is being remodeled into additional classroom space.
“The food was not made here before – they had to bring in food everyday – but now it is going to be made here all day,” Anna Haynes, a junior, said. “Now, we are able to have breakfast, snacks and lunch. I am so excited to see this school grow like this.”
Superintendent Greg Monroe also expressed his excitement for the addition and encouraged students to approach it with a sense of gratitude.
“Have grateful hearts. I know you do. I know that is one thing that defines a Crusader, that we don’t take things for granted, but also when we have beautiful things around us please continue to rise to that challenge,” Monroe said. “Continue to pursue excellence. Continue to unlock our potential as a Crusader and as a member of our diocese.”
In her address to the student body and faculty, Riginos expressed that these improvements demonstrate Pope John Paul’s vision of faith and reason paired together to equal truth within the Crusader community.
“Saint John Paul II is a fitting patron for this building because there is a piece of his life in every room of it,” Riginos said.
As a playwright, actor, stoneworker, philosopher and kayaker, he would appreciate each new room, she speculated.
“He was not one thing, and neither are you,” she said. “The athlete belongs in the theater. The artist belongs in the weight room. The scholar belongs in the design lab. God didn’t make any of you to be just one thing. He made you in His image and He made you on purpose.”
— Lisa M. Geraci
