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Welcome to Charlotte Latin School. With 122 acres of mature shade
trees, ornamental gardens, manicured lawns, and a pond, you may
think our campus is actually a park; however, Charlotte Latin is
conveniently located near major city streets and highways within
the heart of suburban southeast Charlotte.
Despite the serenity of the campus, our School is a center of
activity and learning within facilities designed to support and
enhance our outstanding college-preparatory academic program, extensive
athletics program, and flourishing arts program.
Our guided tour escorts you to key locations around
the campus, moving counter-clockwise from the Main Administration
Building and Reception Area.
This building houses the School's main reception
area and Office of the Headmaster, Mr. Arch N. McIntosh, Jr. Upper
School classrooms and the Upper School Office are also located in
Fennebresque Hall. Visitors to campus are requested to check in
with the Receptionist when first arriving on campus.
The 17,638-square-foot Media Center is the information
hub of the School. A 50:50 ratio of print-to-non-print media is
the guideline used in the Media Center, and a technology network
is in place to support this goal. This network includes a fiber
optic network that links all areas and classrooms of the School
and provides the capacity for community links, a computerized catalog
system that provides instant information on the center's 47,000
volumes, and computers with Internet access for use by students,
parents, and faculty. The Media Center also features The Carolinas
Room, a major collection of printed materials about the Carolinas
by Carolinas' authors.
Encompassing classrooms, computer and science labs,
a music room, an art room, a health room, a kitchen, a counseling
office, and Carol Hall ( the Lower School gymnasium), this building
serves the needs of our younger students within the larger campus
complex. The Lower School playground is immediately adjacent to
the building, which also houses the Lower School Office and the
Admissions Office.
The 21,000 square-foot Founders' Hall/Dining Hall
is an important center of activity on the Charlotte Latin campus.
It features a commercial kitchen, which provides hot breakfasts
and lunches for Latin's students, parents, faculty, and guests.
Nutritious snacks, a salad bar, and soft drinks are also available
in this light and airy building. The Supply Nest and the Senior
Loft are housed in the Founders' Hall/Dining Hall, which also provides
space for special events.
Named in honor of the School's Headmaster Emeritus,
this building houses Middle School classrooms, the Middle School
Office, computer labs, an art studio, and a counseling office. Each
grade is arranged on its own hall, branching out from a central
foyer that serves as a special meeting place for Middle School activities.
The newly remodeled gazebo is a favorite gathering
spot for enjoying Charlotte Latin's park- like campus. Centrally
located, the Gazebo provides an ideal spot for special activities,
as well as an outdoor location to hold classes.
Located next to Fennebresque Hall, this building
serves as one of the primary Upper School classroom buildings, and
is equipped with general classrooms and writing labs.
Programs and classrooms for the fine and performing
arts are located in the 740-seat Thies Auditorium. The auditorium
is equipped with a computerized light and sound system as well as
a large screen used for the many meetings and programs conducted
there each month. The auditorium also features Downer Lobby, where
student art is prominently displayed. From the Holiday Concert to
the Spring Musical, Thies Auditorium hosts many of Charlotte Latin's
favorite events.
Located adjacent to Belk Gymnasium and parallel
to Patten Stadium, this new 50,000-square-foot facility provides
expanded space for athletic events and practices. It includes a
full-length basketball/volleyball court with retractable bleachers
that collapse to form two full-length cross courts. Also featured
is a fully-equipped wrestling room, indoor track, a training room,
concession stand, press box, and offices. In addition, the center
is equipped to hold 1400 seats, creating a location that can house
the entire student body and faculty, as well as special events such
as Commencement. The center opened in January 2001.
Belk Gymnasium supports the physical education needs
of Middle and Upper School students. Physical education classes,
intramural program activities, and athletic team practices are held
in this 18,000-square-foot facility. The gymnasium also contains
men's and women's locker rooms, offices for coaches and physical
education teachers, and a dance room.
Home of the Charlotte Latin Hawks, Patten Stadium
features a lighted scoreboard and permanent bleachers to seat the
Hawk's football, lacrosse, and soccer fans. The stadium also encompasses
a seven-lane all-weather track.
This 22-lane indoor pool is located on the Charlotte
Latin campus and operated by the Mecklenburg Aquatic Club, one of
the nation's most successful private swim clubs. It is the only
facility of its type located on an independent school campus in
the Charlotte area, offering swimming classes for Latin students
and hosting the Charlotte Latin Hawks swim team. The facility also
includes locker rooms, meeting rooms, and a waiting room/lounge
equipped with a concession stand.
Opened in August 2000, this 35,000-square-foot classroom
building provides state-of-the-art science laboratories, computer
laboratories, and art studios for Upper and Middle School students.
Internet resources and multi-media technology are used to enhance
students experiences in all classes.
This three-acre pond serves as a sanctuary for local
flora and fauna, as a quiet catch-and- release fishing hole for
the Latin community, and as the venue for the annual Middle School
cardboard boat races. Once threatened by encroaching pollution resulting
from extensive construction in adjoining neighborhoods, the pond
now thrives due to a massive reclamation project spearheaded by
Charlotte Latin students, parents, faculty, and administration.
The model developed to save the pond is available to others wishing
to reclaim endangered wetlands resources. The pond also serves as
an outdoor classroom for the science curriculum at each grade level,
and as an on-going service project for the School's Environmental
Club.
The Charlotte Latin campus is punctuated with a
variety of gardens, including an English garden outside the Middle
School, a butterfly garden adjacent to the Lower School playground,
and Anna's Garden between the Media Center and the Admissions Office.
The Japanese Garden, located outside the Dickson Building, features
the elements of traditional Japanese design by creating a space
for contemplation where nature is revered and celebrated. Garden
designer Mike Oshita used the elements of stones, sand and gravel,
water, flora, and space arranged according to the laws of perspective.
Each element was carefully selected, with balance based on the triangle
to determine composition.
This bronze sculpture of two children is featured
in Anna's Garden, a Japanese garden created in memory of Charlotte
Latin student Anna Kennedy. The sculpture was first sketched, then
created in a clay model that was used to form a rubber mold, which
was filled with wax. The wax hardened into new forms that were dipped
into a one-half-inch coating of ceramic slurry and sand. The wax
was then melted from the hardened vessel, which was filled with
molten bronze. Once the bronze hardened, the ceramic shell was chipped
away, the two figures were welded together, and a chemical patina
was added.
Cast in bronze, this bust was created to commemorate
the School's headmaster in conjunction with the dedication of the
Edward J. Fox, Jr. Middle School. The artist sculpted a clay model
from a variety of photographs taken of Dr. Fox from different angles,
then cast the bronze work from this model. Dr. Fox retired in 2001
after twenty-five years as Charlotte Latin's headmaster. He is honored
as Latin's Headmaster Emeritus.
Sculpted from red marble and resting upon a base
of black granite, "Torsionsphere's" twisting geometric shape and
contrast of smooth with gnarled textures represents the struggle
between gradual changes occurring outside of the earth and the more
violent and active physical processes within the earth's inner core.
Carved from white Carrara marble, "Crater" was inspired
by an article published in The New York Times that detailed the
work of two scientists who discovered that the earth's inner core
rotates slightly faster than its outer surface. The artist viewed
this research as a metaphor for man's journey through life. The
work's surface holes and imperfections signify life's beauty and
uniqueness; at night, a light shines through the sculpture's center,
highlighting the imperfections and representing the purity of the
soul within the flawed human character.
The red-tailed hawk was once a common sight in southeastern
Mecklenburg County before its woodland areas gave way to Charlotte's
rapid development. When Charlotte Latin School was established,
the area was still rural, and the hawk was an excellent choice to
serve as its mascot. Captured in flight with talons extended, "Red-Tailed
Hawk" represents the strength and beauty of this proud bird of prey
that once ruled over our campus, and occasionally still glides through
the skies above us.
An idyllic, half-scale bronze sculpture of a young
girl reaching out to feed seagulls in midflight, "Laura" exemplifies
the harmony between the human element - the families who make up
our School - and the natural setting we try to care for and protect.
One gull grasps the food from her fingers as two others await another
chance to be fed. In this sculpture, all seems well in the relationship
between human beings and the lesser creatures in nature.
A life-sized woman is captured at that moment when
she crosses the finish line and breaks the tape of victory that
waits at the end of the race. Motion is the core of this bronze
sculpture, showing muscles that are tense, a figure lunging forward,
and a ribbon suddenly released that becomes fluid in mid-air. The
sculptor "freeze-frames" in metal what is often captured in photographs
and videos of sporting events.
The desire to win is expressed in the face of a
female athlete at the moment competition begins in this bronze statue.
She appears to be channeling all of her energy into this one moment
as she prepares to release her javelin.
In athletic competition there is always a hurdle
to overcome; an obstacle that stands between victory and defeat,
whether physical or psychological. Taken literally, this sculpture
presents a three-dimensional illustration of a high hurdler. Taken
symbolically, it represents the challenges one faces in sports or
in life, and how one handles the encounter.
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