Ursuline’s new fitness center dedicated to health

    Educating young women in mind, body and spirit – with an emphasis on service to others – is the crux of Ursuline Academy.
    The Sept. 26 dedication of the Ursuline Academy Fitness and Wellness Center – comprising a new two-story building connected to a renovated gym, as well as a new courtyard and softball field – makes educating the whole student a little easier, especially when it comes to scheduling training and practices for sports and dance teams.
   
  “Now there is a space for everybody to practice,” new president Karen Thomas McNay said. “And, we’ve been able to incorporate a lot of wellness into the curriculum. We know that it is so important to include that program.”
    New programs such as yoga for students and teachers have been added, and after-school activities such as martial arts, dance and gymnastics will be available.
    “We are really working on the whole picture,” she said. “The Ursuline Sisters knew 286 years ago the importance of educating young women in mind, body and spirit,” McNay said.
Blessing new center
    Archbishop Gregory Aymond gave the invocation inside the old gym, originally designed in 1935 by New Orleans builder George Glover and now equipped with air conditioning, new floors, an elevated running track and volleyball and basketball practice courts.
    “This is another historic day in the life of Ursuline Academy,” Archbishop Aymond said.
    He thanked God for the Ursulines, their foundress St. Angela Merici (who started the order in Italy in 1535) and for bringing the first Catholic school in the United States to New Orleans in 1727. He then blessed the new facilities as he took a tour with those gathered.
What the new digs have
    Counting the existing 17,000-square-foot Ourso Athletic Center, the updated gym and the two-story addition, Ursuline now has 35,000 square feet of health and well-being facilities for students, McNay added.
    Each new element honors someone special in the history of Ursuline Academy.
    The state-of-the-art addition is named after beloved Ursuline Sister Marie McCloskey, who is now 99. It includes an enlarged weight room with weight machines, dumbbells and multi-cable crossovers; a mirrored dance/yoga studio with double ballet bars and a media screen; extensive cardio room with treadmills, Stair climbers, elliptical machines, recumbent bikes and upright bike trainers; and an athletic conference room and coaches’ offices. A multi-media classroom in the building has work stations and a Smart board and is named for deceased student Nia Robertson, class of 1997.
 
   Ursuline Sister Carla Dolce spoke of her friend Sister McCloskey, saying how fitting it was to honor her in the old gym where the long-time Ursuline physical education teacher instituted the first rally night in 1948.
    Sister Dolce said Sister McCloskey’s desire was to create a “family of love” at Ursuline, something she felt when she joined the Ursuline order in 1938. Sister Carla described Sister Marie as an extraordinary person who taught students that winning wasn’t everything, had a deep sense of social justice for the poor and took time to listen to students.
    “She lived the reverence she taught,” Sister Dolce said, and often prayed in the chapel to Our Lady of Prompt Succor. “She was the epitome of what it is to be an Ursuline, living a long life of service to others” with generosity and true humility.
    The courtyard is named in honor of teacher Joan Gisevius Johnson, class of 1961, who demonstrated integrity in all she did while sharing her time, gifts, talents, compassion and encouragement at Ursuline, McNay said.
 
 The new softball field (named in honor of Miss Pat Taylor, alumna and former Ursuline softball coach and physical education teacher) has new dugouts, batting cage and scoreboard.
    Students are excited about the additions on the Uptown campus.
    “We get to use it for a lot of different things,” sophomore Lauren Bagneris said. “I play volleyball, and we get to use it for practices and workouts, and there’s a new training room and it’s bigger than our old one. It really helps the players to have a new one.”
Long legacy continues
    McNay, who came from Kentucky, joined Ursuline as president in July. She considers her vocation as a Catholic educator – and now specifically at Ursuline – the opportunity to make an impact on a student’s life from childhood to young adulthood. She said she found a school with a strong sense of family and community at Ursuline and sees the school’s motto of Serviam (I will serve) in action in its students, faculty and alumni who now are community leaders.
    She hopes alumni feel welcomed to come home and use the new facilities in the future.
    “Our plan is to offer classes to alumni,” McNay said.
    Christine Bordelon can be reached at [email protected].