Inspired Alumnus Makes $1.5 million gift

ADVANCE NOTICE

A Campaign Update

March 2017

$1.5 Million Petrello Gift Match

Challenges NA Community to Support Rise & Flourish

Say Yes to the Challenge -- Click here to make your gift!

Inspired by the transformation of the Newark Academy campus made possible by Rise & Flourish, NA alumnus Anthony (Tony) Petrello '72 and his wife, Cynthia, are hoping to fuel enthusiasm among fellow alumni, parents and friends by matching every new gift and pledge made to Rise & Flourish during 2017.

Tony and Cynthia made their gift commitment, which will total $1.5 million, on Dec. 31, 2016 -- giving the NA community 365 days to rise to the challenge and donate an equal amount to Rise & Flourish. The Petrello Matching Gift Challenge, if fulfilled, will push the campaign over its original goal of $30 million, ensuring full funding for the completion of the new Middle School and providing initial funding for the renovation and expansion of Rose Auditorium.

Prior to the Petrellos' gift commitment, more than 400 NA alumni, parents, grandparents and friends made gifts totaling $27 million. These gifts are funding the future of NA through a series of long-needed capital improvements and a significant increase in the school's endowment. More specifically, gifts to Rise & Flourish covered the costs of the new Upper School Academic Center (opened in 2012), renovations to the outdoor athletic facilities (completed in 2014), and construction of the new Middle School facility (scheduled to open in Fall 2017). Gifts to Rise & Flourish have also created a $5 million endowment for the Newark Scholars Program, a full-ride-plus scholarship program for students from NA's namesake city.

Head of School Don Austin called the Petrello Matching Gift Challenge a cause for celebration for the entire NA community. “Tony and Cynthia Petrello's generosity is a tremendous vote of confidence in the future of Newark Academy,” Mr. Austin said. "I share Tony and Cynthia's hope that this wonderful gift will motivate other alumni, parents and grandparents to join us as we bring this campaign to a successful conclusion over the next year."

Home, Sweet Home: The NA Middle School Nears Completion

It's almost time! Boxes are being packed and new furnishings are arriving almost daily. Middle School students and faculty are counting the days until they move into their brand new home on campus. Featuring 10 classrooms, three dedicated grade-level science labs, secure outdoor space, and one of the largest common spaces on the campus, the new Middle School building is the third of four capital projects being funded through Rise & Flourish.

While the building may look nearly finished, Newark Academy still needs the help and support of alumni, parents, grandparents and friends to fund the $11 million cost of the Middle School. Thanks to the Petrello Matching Gift Challenge (see top story), every new gift and pledge made toward this effort will be matched, dollar-for-dollar. In order to allow time for the fundraising to be completed, the dedication and naming ceremony for the Middle School will take place in Fall 2017.

Mild winter weather enabled construction on the Middle School to move rapidly since the April 2016 groundbreaking. According to Head of School Don Austin, the 22,000 square foot facility may be granted a certificate of occupancy by the end of April. "As soon as we receive the CO, we will start moving in," Mr. Austin says. "This will allow the faculty to get settled in before they leave for the summer and will enable us to transition immediately to the renovation of the existing Middle School corridor."

Space currently dedicated to the Middle School is being re-purposed during Summer 2017, providing two new physics labs and a centralized office for NA's College Counseling team.

Click here to check out more pics of the new Middle School!

The Grand Finale

Planning begins for Rose Auditorium

Every great production concludes with a grand finale. For Newark Academy’s Rise & Flourish campaign the “final number” is the renovation and expansion of Rose Auditorium. Serving as the home for Morning Meeting and the locale for hundreds of artistic productions since 1965, the auditorium is the much-anticipated final capital improvement project to be funded by Rise & Flourish.

Despite its reputation as “the heart of Newark Academy," Rose Auditorium has not kept pace in terms of NA’s enrollment growth or in the areas of acoustics, lighting and theatrical technology. For the past several years, seating for Morning Meeting has been “standing room only” and the increasingly talented NA actors, singers, dancers and musicians have seen performances limited only by the quality of the facility.

Planning for the Rose Auditorium project will be led by the Properties Committee of the Board of Trustees with input from the NA administration and the Arts Department faculty. Early concepts of the project (photos on right) include an enlarged lobby and seating for approximately 750.

As with the previous three capital projects funded through Rise & Flourish, work on Rose Auditorium will not begin until the Middle School project is fully funded and 50 percent of the cost of the auditorium is secured through gifts and pledges. Early estimates for the project are in the range of $4.5 to $5 million.

Alumni, parents and friends interested in learning more about naming gift opportunities for Rose Auditorium should contact Alisa Laudicina, Senior Advancement Officer for Major Gifts at 973-992-7000, ext. 309 or via email: [email protected]