Spring/Summer 2022 - Volume VI

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

This recently-installed sign on Montgomery Avenue is definitely a sign of good things to come for Lower Merion School District! As our 4th and 5th graders across LMSD prepare for promotion ceremonies in the coming week, we wanted to share an update on Black Rock Middle School, which is set to open to 5th through 8th graders from Penn Wynne and Gladwyne in September.

We are pleased to report that construction is moving along on schedule. As you can see from these photos, the classroom spaces are really starting to take shape. Many already have their paint, carpeting, lighting and built-in furniture in place. The moveable furniture has started to arrive and current LMSD teachers who will be moving to BRMS are boxing up their belongings to be moved to their new home over the summer.

Thirteen thousand new books for the BRMS Library/Media Center are due to arrive next week, curriculum resources have already been ordered and textbooks being moved from elsewhere in the District have been inventoried and are being readied for transfer at the end of this academic year.

The final spaces to be completed will be the gyms and auditorium, which, again, are expected to be complete in time for the start of the school year.

Click play in the middle of the box below to see a slideshow of recent images from Black Rock!

TEAM-BUILDING

As exciting as it is to see the physical space coming together, it’s even more exciting to see the students from Penn Wynne, Gladwyne, Bala Cynwyd and Welsh Valley, who will attend the school when it opens, already building new friendships!

Over the past few weeks, BRMS Principal Sarah Stout, Assistant Principals Jen Kehoe and Hamirah Mobley, School Counselors Mike Chiacchiere and Boris Oden along with numerous future BRMS teachers visited with the feeder schools to engage future BRMS students in fun team-building activities and provide a virtual orientation to the building. Students were able to meet their future classmates from the other schools. By all accounts, everyone who participated had a ROYAL-ly good time!

Click play in the box below to see a slideshow of images from the team-building activity!

HOME & SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

Students aren’t the only ones getting to know one another. The BRMS Home & School Association is already hard at work and looking for additional volunteers to support the students and staff throughout the upcoming school year. Parents and guardians who are interested in learning more about the BRMS HSA are urged to reach out to blackrockHSA@gmail.com.

There are all sorts of ways to get involved. Whether you can spare one hour or lots of hours, joining the HSA is a great way to make new friends and help grow a sense of community among BRMS families. The HSA is grateful to the InterSchool Council and the other HSAs who have supplied seed money to help get them up and running.

VIRTUAL BUILDING TOUR

While visitors won’t be able to access BRMS until late August, Ms. Stout has prepared a virtual tour video of the building that will help students and their families take a look inside and familiarize themselves with the layout of the new school. The video was shot earlier this spring – so make sure you watch until the very end to see some updated photos that show some of the interior spaces much closer to completion.

Students will be able to tour the school prior to the start of school (TENTATIVE DATE: September 1, 2022), so BRMS families should be on the lookout for emails from Ms. Stout over the summer with exact dates and times.

SAVE THE DATE!

Speaking of dates, looking ahead to fall, here are some other important dates for Black Rock Middle School families to mark their calendars!

• Sept. 6, 2022: First Day of School
• Sept. 19, 2022: BRMS 5th & 6th Grade Open House
• Sept. 20, 2022: BRMS 7th & 8th Grade Open House
• Oct. 1, 2022: BRMS Ribbon-cutting & Community Grand Opening Celebration