What a difference a few months makes!

Our “Rose Garden” building has been transformed from the beloved but tired, inefficient building to a magnificent new structure, bright, sound, and welcoming to our Early Childhood community.

It was quite a journey from “before” to “after.” The crew took the entire edifice down to the bones, discovering in the process that the foundation, posts, and beams all needed reinforcement and significant reconstruction. They took the opportunity to properly insulate the antique frame with modern materials, reconfigure the layout on the original footprint, and recreate the classrooms and kitchen space so that they were tight, efficient, and square (for a change!). There is a new center hall for coat and boot storage, new porticos, a back deck and ramp, and new security doors. Soon the aesthetic details will become more apparent—the plain walls will be artistically painted in the “lazure” style, new area rugs will be laid, landscaping will commence and the little details that give the space the cozy, lived-in feeling will continue to appear. Already the children are happily settled in, after an adventurous outdoor classroom hiatus.

Thanks again to the many volunteers and professionals who carried the project to completion. Project leaders included The Newtown Savings Bank, HVWS parent Matt Seidel of Mabbot Seidel Architecture (who generously donated his professional skills and time), the HVWS Capital Assets Strategic Team (CAST), with member and parent Jeff James working as the representative liaison to the project, our supportive administration and faculty leadership (the College of Teachers), our tireless Early Childhood teachers, and the Board of Trustees who worked intensely with CAST to formulate a strategy to make it happen.

In the New Year, we will throw open the doors and celebrate the rejuvenated Rose Garden classrooms. We hope you’ll come experience for yourself how the old, sleepy space has metamorphosed into a beautiful building that serves our young students and their teachers so well!