What an Incredible Time at the Academy!

 

Dear Gilmour Community,

 

I am very excited to update you on campus renovations that are underway and will proceed through spring break and beyond. We are so grateful to be able to make these campus improvements and most have been (or will be) done with little interruption to our students' daily lives. If you are visiting campus, please, pardon our dust!

 

Renovations to the robotics classroomwere completed over Christmas break and the students are at home in a space fitting of their incredible work. I am so grateful to Meredith Seikel and her late husband Oliver ’55 and to Robert Skoda ’07 for providing the funding and leadership for our robotics program and this classroom.

 

The repairs to the roof on the Commons, Chapel Hallway and Lennon Boardroom are currently in full swing. The weather has conspired against us and delays have been inevitable. However, exterior improvements to the roof should be completed by the end of February and the interior renovation is scheduled to be completed by the end of spring break. At the culmination of the project, an antique treatment will be applied to the green kiosk portion of the roof to match the gutters and metal treatments on Tudor House. Interior renovations will include flooring, lighting and painting. I am so grateful to the Kiebler and Baird families for their support of this important project.

 

Renovations to the music classrooms at the Lower and Middle Schools will take place over spring break, providing additional sound proofing and greater sight lines to supervise student practice spaces during class and private lessons. This project is part of our unique designation as a Steinway Select School made possible through the generous commitment of the Figgie Foundation in 2016.

 

The ongoing construction of The Lorraine and Bill Dodero Center for Performing Arts in the center of campus is exciting as we watch this transformative facility come to life brick by brick. The expected substantial completion in November of 2019 can't come soon enough!

 

Engineers and contractors are on campus finalizing plans for our outdoor classroom, amphitheater and greenhouse, which will be the center of Gilmour's environmental science and nature-based learning programs. This space will be between the Upper and Lower campus, near St. Mary's Lake, and will also house a 2,500-square-foot garden with spaces designated for research collaborations and curricular projects; a giving garden for donating produce to local hunger centers; a pollinator garden and beehives; and a chicken coop. We are so grateful to Brian and Gretchen Colleran and The Colleran Family Foundation for their support of this PreK-Grade 12 initiative.

 

The final enhancements to the Lower School playground, also funded by The Colleran Family Foundation, will take place in early spring. Landscaping, stanchions and a tether ball area will provide the finishing touches. In addition, sunscreen stations, a gift from the Woodhouse family, will be installed at the playground as well as near the Upper School athletic fields.

 

We have received funding from a family foundation, which wishes to remain anonymous, to redesign the front entrance of the Lower School to create a more secure and supervised welcome area. This construction will have a temporary impact on the location of the school office during Lower School summer camp. More details will be forthcoming.

 

Our athletic fields will also be undergoing enhancement. Phase II of Figgie Baseball Field will commence shortly after spring break with the addition of bleachers, a scoreboard and concession area. Fundraising is underway for the renovation of Weber Stadium. Phase I of this project will include a new turfed athletic field for soccer, lacrosse and football and a new track. Phase II will include locker rooms and storage and Phase III will include lights.

 

To say it is an exhilarating time at Gilmour is an understatement. I am so grateful to so many for such generous support and confidence.

 

May God bless you and all you love,

 

Kathleen C. Kenny