Headmaster Robert Dworkoski and the Board of Trustees of the Viewpoint School hosted an event Saturday evening celebrating the school’s new state-of-the-art facilities-the Dworkoski Family Hall, Paul Family Athletic Center and the seven-lane competition swimming pool.
“Tonight is really about celebrating education and innovation,” Viewpoint’s Senior Advancement Officer Jennifer Rhodes said.
The project is the realization of a vision for the school’s campus that started more than 11 years ago with the creation of Viewpoint’s Master Plan. In that time frame, Viewpoint invested approximately $57 million to build eight new academic and athletic facilities totaling about 133,000 square feet.
“Viewpoint provides students with the best possible education,” Dworkoski said. “And we wanted to build the same kind of magnificent matching campus.”
The 47,000 square foot Dworkoski Family Hall was named in honor of Dworkoski, who’s been with the school for 26 years. It includes state-of-the-art classrooms, science labs and art studios. The Paul Family Athletic Center features a 900-seat gymnasium for volleyball and basketball, as well as additional space for a fitness center, locker rooms and coaches’ offices.
“The funding for the new additions were raised through the community and foundations,” Dworkoski said. “It was all through generous donations, with no assistance from the government.”
Viewpoint was founded in 1961 and is a K-12, nondenominational, nonprofit day school of 1,200 students.
The event showcased the talent and work of Viewpoint students by displaying their artwork in the new art gallery. More than 650 members of the Viewpoint community, including family members, attended the event.
Malibu resident Mike Murphy said enrolling his 8-year-old daughter at Viewpoint was an easy decision.
“This place is magical,” Murphy said. “The students here really have an incredible amount of joy and enthusiasm. The teachers absolutely love what they are doing and love the children like I’ve never seen in my life.”
Dworkoski and the Board of Trustees hosted the event, with featured speaker Stanford University Professor Dr. Keith J. Devlin, in an effort to thank the individuals and families who made the project possible.
“The magic ingredients for success in anything are passion, commitment and focus,” Devlin said, as he focused on the importance of innovation in his speech.
Viewpoint’s Associate Director of Communications Monica Case is a Viewpoint alumnus. She now works for the school and her daughter attends as a 2nd grader.
“There have been incredible changes in the past 25 years,” Case said. “The school grew from 300 students to 1,200 students and the campus grew from seven acres to 25 acres.”
Every child is known at Viewpoint and it’s like family for everyone, Case said.
“It’s not 1,200 students here,” Dworkoski said. “It’s one student times 1,200. Every child is special and different.”
Malibu resident Kate White brings her son and daughter to Viewpoint. Her son is in 1st grade and her daughter is in 5th grade.
“I love the idea of being able to keep them in the same school from Kindergarten to 12th grade,” White said. “It’s a very nurturing environment in a beautiful setting.”
Renee Vogel, Malibu resident and parent, believes middle school is usually a very difficult time for children, but at Viewpoint it’s different because students have the same peers.
The school provides its students with a high standard of academics, offering 27 advanced placement and 16 honors courses, along with four foreign languages. Students are taught public speaking skills and are required to speak in the theater beginning in kindergarten.
Cinematographer Eric Steelberg, who’s done work for movies such as “Up in the Air” and “Juno,” graduated from Viewpoint in 1993.
“He started here making short films,” Dworkoski said. “We really want students to find their passion here.”
For more information about the Viewpoint School, go to www.viewpoint.org.