You wouldn’t know it. Already, the Barn has become so ingrained in the everyday reality and culture of our school that to think it has only been open for a year is hard to believe. However, December 3which, as it turned out, we celebrated with a snow daymarked the one year anniversary of Belmont Day’s receipt of the certificate of occupancy for our already beloved academic, athletics, and arts building.
Consider what the Barn has already seen! In no time at all, the Blue and Gold courts hosted a middle school basketball tournament, Early Birds, the Winter Concert, Friday Night Hoops, the MLK Assembly, and sharing assemblies. This summer, its garage doors opened wide and it hosted the joyful play of campers during our summer program, and by the time the school year began, I found myself regularly in conversations saying, “it feels as though the Barn has been here forever.”
So, what makes it feel that way? I imagine that such a sentiment stems from the fact that the Barn is and has always been an extension of that which Belmont Day has always beenan innovative school dedicated to excellence and the growth of the whole child. Consider the spaces themselves, designed to inspire and challenge every student, pre-kindergarten to eighth grade athletically, artistically, and academically. Consider how the spaces intentionally promote the connection between the more traditional experiential education of the woodshop with the equally hands-on yet more digital education of the IMPACT lab. Consider the way the building promotes community and gathering through Early Birds, assemblies, special events, and plenty of home games. In all ways, the Barn echoes what BDS has always been. Maybe that is why, as we blow out its singular birthday candle, it feels as familiar as the Schoolhouse itself.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
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