BHMS BY DESIGN:
Joyful Spaces in All the Right Places
The 60th Anniversary Campaign
We're enhancing the student experience.
Over our 60 year history, each generation of BHMS families has come together to take care of and build upon our incredible facilities so that our students today have beautiful, well-designed spaces where they can learn and grow. That's why we are once again investing in our physical environment by creating some exciting new (and rediscovering some wonderful old) spaces for not only our own kids, but those to come.
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The design of the learning environment plays an integral role in Montessori philosophy and pedagogy. BHMS by Design is a project that focuses on creating and restoring intentionally designed spaces for the best possible delivery of our Montessori program.
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Montessori learning requires lots of space, and our growth has led to some limitations in ours:
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Our Lower Elementary suite, as configured, just isn’t big enough. As a result, one of our classrooms has been temporarily housed in spaces specifically designed for our Visual and Performing Arts program. A world class arts program is a hallmark of BHMS; in recent years, it has been constrained due to the physical environment.
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Similarly, our rooftop play space needs some love and enhancements to extend our environmental curriculum to our younger students.
It’s time to make more room, reunite our programs, make our buildings more sustainable, spruce up our outdoor spaces, light up our performances, and bring the arts home.
We're thinking about the future.
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We have the privilege of having the resources, bandwidth, and energy to proactively plan for our next phase of development. This is a chance to invest intentionally in our community, and invest in our students, staff, and faculty both now and for years to come.
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BHMS By Design supports our strategic vision for the future of the school of continually enhancing the learning environment to support the Montessori programmatic experience at every level. Each component of this investment is a result of intentional design to provide sustainable building systems that will carry us into the future.
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Our Board of Trustees is forward-thinking and together with the Administration, are preparing to embark on this project in summer 2025.
We’re working as a team.
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This project is intentionally designed in collaboration with our experienced Montessori educators to center the needs of the child and ensure the space is used to its full potential.​
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This project emerged out of critical needs identified by teachers and program leaders.
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Teaching teams, program leaders, and BHMS staff are working directly with architects, engineers, code consultants, and other vendors to ensure every element of this project serves the needs of the students and faculty and staff.
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From the details of the design, to the timeline of ensuring the work is completed over the summer with students are at the center of the decision making.
We’re growing and expanding.
A full renovation of the Lower Elementary suite centers our community by bringing the whole program together. This supports the growth and development of our students with new tools, resources, and space to do big work while enhancing collaboration among our faculty.​
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Renovating these classrooms will free up space for more impactful program delivery and increase our capactiy for greater enrollment.
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This project will reunite all three Lower Elementary classrooms in one contiguous space for the first time since prior to Covid.
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The design will optimize the use of space – each classroom is designed to be approximately 850 square feet (roughly a 50% increase) in order to have enough open work space for individual work time and group lessons, large open spaces to gather and provisions for big Montessori works, and plenty of storage for Montessori materials when not in use.
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Each classroom will be state of the art, designed to meet the developmental needs of children ages six through nine.
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We’re bringing the arts and music home.
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We are enhancing the program experience by situating VAPA programs in spaces designed specifically for arts programming.
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The project will upgrade the stage lighting and lightboard in the Firehouse, which will help the Middle School Collaborative Production, along with other performances and community gatherings held throughout the year, shine.
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Moving Atlantic Ocean students back down to the second floor allows music to move upstairs to a classroom originally designed for music, freeing up space in the Firehouse.
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With that, our Firehouse and will be available for additional programming in VAPA, such as dance classes of all types, and programming designed for both families and students alike.
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Reuniting all three classrooms in contiguous space also allows full use of the Third Floor Gallery as a dedicated space to display student and faculty artwork.
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We're playing outside.
The redesigned playroof will provide a space specially crafted to promote the physical and social-emotional development of children ages two through nine, while connecting them with nature and the outdoors, and giving them a great space to run around and have fun.
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New equipment on the playroof is designed to promote the exploration and growth of children in our Early Childhood and Lower Elementary programs to more closely align with our interior Montessori environments.
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The new playroof will prioritize social skill development, providing kids a refreshed space to run around and be kids during recess.
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The surface of the playroof will also be replaced – an important safety upgrade because of regular wear and tear from the weather.
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The renovation will also include new opportunities for gardening and Erdkinder studies.
We’re taking care of it all.
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We have inherited a beautiful and well-kept facility from the generation before. We can now pay it forward to ensure our building remains sustainable into the future.
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Now is the time to make some important improvements and upgrades to ensure our environment is in state-of-the-art condition for the current and next generations.
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This project includes important sustainability initiatives such as a new energy-efficient HVAC system in the second floor of our Court Street building as well as new thermal smart and energy efficient windows throughout our facilities to give our preschool students a whole lot of light and the best views out into the world.
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We are creating a suite of admin offices on the first floor to enhance accessibility and collaboration among our administrators who work to support the family experience.
Lower Elementary Classroom
HERE'S OUR ASK:
Through prudent planning and investment by our Board of Trustees we have saved and set aside roughly two-thirds of the funds needed to complete this project. Now we are asking the community to do what generations of families have done before us: invest alongside us to ensure that our BHMS spaces continue to be the best they can be.
Our BHMS by Design Capital Campaign has a $1 million goal. The project completion date is Fall of 2025. It's timely and its benefits are immediate. Will you join us?
Thank you for considering a gift to our 60th anniversary campaign. Unlike our BHMF, gifts to BHMS By Design can be made over the course of three years.
For more information on how your family can make a transformational gift,
please contact Lucy McLoughlin, Director of Development.