Our New Home
It is cold and snowy outside, but you wouldn’t know it in our warm, well-insulated, newly- renovated buildings at 6000 Wayne Avenue. Just another exciting fact about our new home is that all of these beautiful stone structures have new insulation that will keep us warm and our heating costs manageable. I think the architects, Frank Furness and George Hewitt, would be impressed by the efficiencies we are adding to these amazing historic buildings. Along with the ongoing work at the site, the Leadership Team, in consultation with the constituent groups of the school, continues to plan for our move in June.
We were pleased to share the status of our planning along with an overview of the project last Monday, December 8th at our first Town Hall Meeting. At the meeting we welcomed current parents, faculty/staff, new Germantown neighbors, Ken Weinstein, and members of the Board of Trustees for a slide presentation on the project. The slides highlighted the project’s history (how did we get there?); campus site plans; building/floor plans; traffic patterns with drop-off and pick-up ideas; a map that shows where our families come from; security measures, and development opportunities.
We are considering the questions raised at the meeting about drop-off and pick-up practices, and campus and student safety measures as we continue to plan. If you couldn't join the meeting, or if you'd like to see the slideshow again, see the whole presentation here:Dec 14 Town Hall Presentation v2.
The new campus with its street frontage is a big change from our current tucked-away site. We are working consciously to balance the need to keep students, parents, staff, and visitors safe while offering a welcoming gesture to the surrounding community. Already in place are a security system that permits views and monitoring of all parts of the campus and the development of outdoor play spaces at the back of the buildings, which is surrounded by fencing.
The staff is working on a schedule that will support safe travel in and around the campus; and we are cultivating partnerships with the principals at the neighboring public schools to support safety measures that will benefit all of our schools. Over the summer we plan to invite local elected officials, police officers and fire fighters to visit our campus and get to know us.
Our neighbors at 6000 Wayne have expressed tremendous support and a warm welcome to us, and we intend to show our gratitude with opportunities for the community to share our beautiful campus. We look forward to becoming part of such an active, thriving community, and we’re excited that in just 6 months the move will be a reality.
