Future Ready research underpins the plan to design a Makerspace in the Upper School. Students today are immersed in a digital landscape, and “3 out of 4 teens are interested in starting their own business” (Motley Fool, Youth in Business: How Teen Entrepreneurs Are Shaping the Market July 2024). The Innovation, Creativity & Entrepreneurship Lab will nourish and advance our students’ interests in becoming creators, risk-takers, and problem-solvers.

Black box theaters are increasingly popular in high schools and universities. For example, Harvard University launched a concentration in Theatre, Dance & Media (TDM), making the arts an “integral part of cognitive life of the University, as well as an interdisciplinary performing arts concentration. Students will use their theatre arts skills for careers inside and outside the arts”. The advantages of a black box theater begin with the acoustics and extend to the endless creative configurations imagined by the student director, giving the audience an engaging experience with the best performance views. We will renovate and expand the footprint of existing spaces to construct a black box theatre with overhead girders that can hold set pieces, lighting, curtains, and performance props. This is where “pure” theatre will be explored, and the Lauremont Learner will gain hands-on experience with directing, acting, and technical design and deepen their language skills and confidence.

Research shows that early childhood play influences your child’s cognitive development: memory, language skills, problem-solving, perspective building, concentration and attention, and self-discipline are enhanced through outdoor free play. Through social interaction, play builds your child’s understanding of how to make friends. They learn cooperation, conflict resolution, negotiation, encouragement, calculated risk-taking, and sharing. Each of these life skills helps to form high-functioning and engaging adults that children eventually become.

We will partner with playground designers to create a customized play structure area for Lauremont learners in our Children’s House and Elementary programs. Our playground design will reflect our educational philosophy and include variations of adventure, self-discovery, and unpredictability, nurturing the development of a child’s self-confidence. We will share Lauremont School’s design once it is complete.