Our construction crews were able to make much progress with the Main Building over the past two months. In December, we found out there was a massive fire in the 1930s that left smoke and fire damage to much of the roof, so workers have been tearing out damaged wood, reinforcing the beams and supports, and completely rebuilding sections of the roof. The building is coming along and we are beginning to talk about the finishing touches!
The walls have been framed and most of the electrical work has been done. It’s exciting to see the outline of where our new classrooms and offices will stand. Once all of the wiring is complete and inspections are done, the outer walls will be insulated and drywall will begin to go up.
Carpet, tile, appliances, lighting fixtures, and more have been selected, so we can really start to get a feel for the new space. We are looking forward to having a second Toddler and Children’s House Village with a kitchen, laundry machines, and a state-of-the-art teacher training center. The Maryland Center for Montessori Studies is our Montessori teacher training program, which offers lectures and workshops for aspiring Montessori teachers. Having this facility on-site will connect us with the best Montessori guides in the area and help us to spread the word about this unique pedagogy. The center will be equipped with all of the Montessori materials you would traditionally see in a Children’s House classroom, along with workspaces for adult learners, a built-in projector, and tech resources for presentations.
The Main Building will also be home to two Toddler classrooms and two Children’s House classrooms that will be equipped with new kitchen appliances, child-sized toilets and sinks, and ample room for work and play. The classrooms in the Main Building will all have direct access to an outdoor learning environment, where children can freely flow between indoor and outdoor workspaces throughout the day.
In the next month, we will see the renovations begin on the Creamery (the offices located in the back of the Main Building), along with the finishing touches on the front facade.
As the cold weather sets in, the construction crews stay hard at work restoring the Main Building at Greenspring Montessori School. Trenches have been cut in the concrete slab of the building in order to make way for new piping. Framing began on both floors, allowing us to begin to see the outline of the new classrooms and office spaces. Demolition of existing drywall brought us many historic building surprises, including a major setback in our project.
When the construction team pulled down the ceiling drywall on the second story, they discovered that the entire roof was charred black from a fire. It took some research to find out exactly what happened to this historic building, but we eventually came across evidence that in 1935 there was a fire that destroyed much of the dairy barn, now referred to as our Main Building. Luckily, the structural damage can be repaired, but we cannot continue the project without first stabilizing the roof and replacing the necessary elements.
During the course of this project, we have run into slabs of granite that needed to be blasted and hauled away, outdated sewer and water lines that needed to be replaced, and now a roof that must be stabilized and restored. Through the course of all of these surprises, we have had to put our full contingency budget to work far sooner than anticipated and we now must turn to you, our community for help.
Everyone in the Greenspring Montessori School community can make a difference for our building project. In order to address the issues with the rafters and roof, we will need an additional $100,000. To finish the entire Main Building, we will need a total of $300,000. We know that Greenspring is a financial stretch for many of our families and we must emphasize that every gift counts! If 200 of our families were to donate $42 per month for a year, we would reach the $100,000 marker. For those of you who can give more, we implore you to do so. Please consider making a donation to help us finish our project.
This project is our gift to our children, our future, and our world.
November brought great change to the Greenspring Montessori campus. Our new building, now named Emerson Village, was completed and our faculty and staff were eager to move in. Over Veteran’s Day weekend, an amazing crew of our staff and parent volunteers helped to move eleven classrooms and seven offices around campus. Three of our Children’s House classrooms and all five of our Toddler classrooms moved into the new Village; our two Lower Elementary classrooms moved across the street to Little Barn; our Upper Elementary moved to the Student Activity Center; our Training Center and all of our administrative offices previously located in the Main Building were squeezed in to various places around campus. We are truly loving our new spaces and the children are excited to explore their new classrooms.
This is truly a momentous occasion that is only possible because of the generosity and love of our extended Greenspring community. To see our parents, grandparents, students, faculty, and staff come together to complete this mission has sparked our enthusiasm once more. In mid-November, the second phase of our Capital Project began with renovations to our Main Building. This building was part of the original Emerson Dairy Farm over one hundred years ago. Our mission is to preserve this historic charm, while also making classrooms spaces specifically designed for each level. The Main Building will contain two Toddler classrooms, two Children’s House classrooms, a village kitchen, our new adult Training Center, and most of our administrative offices.
Already, we are beginning to see progress. The upstairs of the Main Building, once home to our Upper and Lower Elementary classrooms, has been gutted down to the original wood beams and on the main floor all of the walls between the classrooms have been removed. Looking into the windows of the building, it once more resembles a dairy barn.
In December, the construction crews will be working to continue the demolition of existing windows, doors, and drywall, as well as prep the foundation of the building for plumbing and new support beams.
Our children are back on campus and classes are in full stride! The month of August brought many exciting updates, along with some hiccups. Our entire community has worked together to overcome these challenges with grace and strength.
The Toddler and Children’s House Village East looks very different from our last update – there is now a roof, walls, windows, and doors! Inside, the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical have all been set and the workers are finishing up with the drywall. In addition, the road that runs in front of the Main Building has been torn up to make way for new utilities and a new road has been paved in its place.
Our entire school community had the opportunity to experience the unpredictable nature of renovations when the power was lost on the first day of school. Our children were excited to learn about the ins and outs of construction and it was a beautiful day to be outside, so it was a harmless inconvenience. Since then, things have been running smoothly!
We are all looking forward to moving into the new building in November.
In June, our building project hit full stride – we have seen walls literally pop up overnight! Although many of our families and staff are off for the summer, our construction continues on and it is great to see the amazing progress.
The half of the Multipurpose Building that is being renovated was stripped down to the bones, windows, siding, and interior framing then took place in this side – making it even easier to picture the spacious, bright Toddler and Children’s House classrooms that are soon to occupy the space. In the east side, the cement floors were poured, steel beams were installed, and the exterior framing is going up. On the other side of campus, workers are digging a trench for utilities.
In the coming weeks, the sheathing, siding, and roof will go up on the new building, providing a true vision of the exterior of our new Toddler and Children’s House Village East. In addition, the construction crew will continue to work on utilities, with their trench extending into the road in front of the Main Building. If you are attending any of our summer programs, please be on the lookout for a revised traffic pattern.
Though the ample spring rains have been trying at times, the project found a much more productive rhythm in May. After spending April in a battle of wills with the vein of Cockeysville Marble running through the site, rock breaking yielded to a considerable amount of grading and foundation preparation. The new addition’s configuration has taken form as footings have been poured—their purpose is to support the foundation and prevent settling, and the site has been cleared of all remaining intrusive elements—electrical and internet cables and less difficult sections of rock.
On the interior, load bearing walls have been demolished and structural steel beams and columns await installation, the existing slab has been cut in various places for plumbing rough-ins, new plywood sheathing has been installed, and window and door openings cut throughout. With a little imagination – ok, maybe a lot – you can see the new classroom building taking shape. June’s efforts will bring far greater clarity to the image.
