News from Lisa
The Fund-a-Need — A Home for the Middle School
As you know, we have spent the last year working on a conditional use permit (CUP) on a unified site plan which will incorporate the Windsor House into the campus and allow uses other than a residence for the Head of School. Enjoyable as it as been to have such a short commute, I am looking forward to being to use the house for classrooms and/or offices. You've seen the site plan, so you also know that one of the requirements of the CUP will be to add parking, a lot of parking.
Since it appears that our best option for the near future is to remain on our current campus while we build our program and brand, we plan to go ahead with the Windsor House renovations. This will give us improved spaces for our middle school girls along with some faculty office spaces, freeing up the portable spaces for administration — development, communications, business office, admissions and, quite likely, the Head of School.
What the middle school has really lacked is a home of its own—and the time has come.
We have been working hard on the middle school program—we've added conflict resolution, ethics, interdisciplinary humanities and more technology. Next year we will upgrade our math program to Everyday Math (and all of our 8th graders will be in algebra or beyond), we will continue to build upon the newly established base in conflict resolution and ethics, and we will be experimenting with a new advising structure so that each grade has a teacher who will oversee the program for that grade. Never the less, what the middle school has really lacked is a home of its own—and the time has come.
A little history. The Girls' School started with 5 girls in grades 5 and 6. The following year (2003), the school moved to Tarrytown and expanded to grades 2-7. Truly, the Girls' School started "in the middle" and expanded in both directions (a unique growth pattern for a school befitting the adventurous nature of our student and parent body). The lower school took over the "prime" real estate (the rooms with a view) and the middle school students ended up in the portable and "Garden" rooms (the Garden room, despite its name, no longer has a view of a garden). The one large middle school room, the science room, doubles as an orchestra room (and just ask Mr. Bonneau what he thinks about that!).
We will be raising money at the Gala for the necessary renovations to the house along with whatever parking we need for that phase of the project. A vibrant and exciting middle school needs a home, and we hope that you are excited as we are about making that happen!
Lisa K. Schmitt
Head of School
(03/09)