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The performance stage will be a venue to host our community and showcase our students performing arts talents. Located behind the Johnson Building, a small hill provides a natural seating area for spectators to enjoy the show. The area will also provide informal opportunities for our student base to bring plays, music, and other performances in a beautiful outdoor space. It also serves to provide an additional space for outdoor instruction.
Creation of an entry to the outdoor classroom area that will also serve as a gathering area, by retaining the existing shelter pavilion and adding a contextual arbor; adding paving adjacent to the existing concrete sidewalk; providing seating to accommodate one group of students and teachers; and placing new plant materials.
This area is designed in size to support flexible, open-ended use with tools and a variety of mixed loose parts, such as giant tree cookies, long wood or bamboo branches, imagination fabric, and varied seasonal items that will support inquiry and investigative exploration, opportunities for dramatic play, large muscle work.
Building a flat, level surface with just enough slope for drainage to encourage tall, dramatic structures; various opportunities for block building; integrating organized outdoor block storage; and dual role stump stools for seating or alternative building platforms.
Building a ground-level deck as a stage; installing two new trees anchoring the stage; providing storage for smaller instruments and play scarves; acquiring specialized outdoor instruments for learning.
Installing a cluster of climbing boulders or log steppers and all around climbing opportunity zone.
Installing a ground surface that also functions as a place to create art and allows for intuitive use as canvases for nature art; acquiring tables with transparent tops that provide an opportunity for collaborative art and exploration of natural items, creations and critters; installing a workbench and stump stools with dual roles as alternative ‘canvasses’ for art or seating at the table; installing art and ideation panels, including flexible open storage for natural materials as well as a storage plan to protect materials.
The Sonnyside Garden Memorial area has served as our sensory and garden area for many years and is dedicated to Sonny Solomon, a wonderful benefactor to St. Andrew’s School for many years. We feel extremely grateful for him to have combined two of his big loves , gardening and children, at our school. To continue honoring his legacy, we will revitalize and preserve the existing memorial garden, keeping grass as the ground cover, incorporating the existing structure and sink, and adding a water source. We are raising funds to build 20 new garden beds for learning about many facets of planting, growing and harvesting a variety of plants, including herbs and vegetables that can shared in creative ways.
Supporting sustainability and lowering our carbon footprint at St. Andrew’s School, we will create a zone for composting. This area will be used as a scientific learning tool, to help minimize our food waste, and to provide nourishment for the plants in our garden.
Varied plantings, including pollinators, varied colors, textures, scents and bloom times will be added to the outdoor learning area. To accommodate high activity levels, we will include hardy woody perennials, select fruit trees, install small ornamental trees, medium and large-sized shade trees, as well as perennials, ground covers and small shrubs in plant beds. We have 20 trees available to plant throughout the area.