Excitement is mounting at The Calverton School in Huntingtown, MD as the school community prepares to break ground on a new addition to its lower school building. Friday, September 30 at 3:30 p.m. will mark the beginning of this construction project as the ceremony takes place behind the existing lower school. The public is invited to join in this celebration.
The construction project will add approximately 20,000 square feet to the building, including eleven new classrooms, a faculty workroom, and a library. It will also free up space in the existing lower school building to relocate the current music and art rooms.
"The success of the lower school program has left us bursting at the seams," said Susan Cox, Lower School Head and Calverton parent. "Because of our commitment to maintain small class sizes, we have outgrown the available space in the existing building and have had to move several classes into space that was created for our middle and upper school students. The new lower school addition will allow us to house two sections of every grade level, pre-kindergarten through grade five, under one roof which further enhances the safety and security of our children."
The lower school addition is scheduled for completion prior to opening day of the 2006-07 school year. When the building opens next fall, a dedication ceremony will be held to name the building the "Cataldi Lower School" in honor of Calverton’s former Director, Dr. M. Elizabeth Cataldi, who served as Director of the school for 18 years.
The building project is part of a major fundraising campaign to raise $4.5 million for capital improvement projects at The Calverton School. According to Wanda T. King, the immediate Past President of The Calverton School’s Board of Trustees and Honorary Chair of the campaign, the new building will "enhance the environment that enables students to learn to the best of their ability, an environment that provides an intimate atmosphere where teachers really know our children."
During her tenure as President of the Board, King led the group through a master planning process that recognized the need for additional space for the lower school. The planning process also identified the need for a Science and Art Center, which was completed in 2001 and athletic fields and tennis courts, which are included in the current campaign. One athletic field, "Veterans Field," has already been constructed. Two additional fields and six tennis courts should be under construction by next spring.
Commitments for more than $3.36 million have already been received, and several challenge grants are currently in progress. One anonymous donor has pledged to match all new or increased gifts to the campaign, dollar for dollar, up to $500,000. Another donor has challenged Calverton’s nearly 500 alumni to raise $125,000 to name one of the fields in the athletic complex, "Alumni Field." This anonymous donor will match all gifts from alumni up to $125,000.