The students were all on hand for the ribbon cutting event.
Board President Stacey Sotirhos, donors Kris Krieg Vallandingham, Suzanne Wilson, Penelope Wilson, Jennifer Perkins Speers, and Head of School Julia Heaton.
The new academic building, Linn Hall, will open next month.
The residence hall will allow the school to expand enrollment its enrollment by about 50.
The construction design team poses before the ribbon.
Student President Zuri Wilson addresses Friday morning's gathering.
Board President Stacey Sotirhos said students volunteer some 12,000 in the community.
The family of Caroline 'Linn' Merck Perkins, whom the building is named after.
School officials and donors cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening of the two new buildings.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Miss Halls School celebrated its first major expansion in 15 years, cutting the ribbon Friday for two new buildings.
The $13.5 million expansion project includes a new residence hall and a new academic building. The 9,325 square-foot residence hall expands enrollment opportunities to now 250 students, up from 201 currently enrolled at the private school.
The academic building will serve as the focus of a new "STEAM" program focusing on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. The 18,125 square-foot building will be the home of the new programs featuring new science laboratories, meeting space, work rooms, and innovation lab.
"The buildings in front of you represent a bold and creative vision for the next generation of Miss Halls, our students and those who will follow you for many years to come," Head of School Julia Heaton said.
"The importance of these new spaces to our school cannot be overstated. Not only do these buildings represent the first significant expansion to our campus in 15 years, they demonstrate our commitment to providing girls with exceptional educational opportunities."
The new Linn Hall is named after the late Caroline "Linn" Merck Perkins, a 1914 graduate. Her family donated some $5 million toward the construction project and members were on hand to help cut the ribbon.
Inside will feature the Grace Murray Hopper Innovation Lab, which will have new classes in animation, robotics, and more. The building is the hub for the new Engineer and Technology Innovation program as well as the Jeannie Norris Horizons Studio, which is focused on experiential learning.
Through the Horizons program, board President Stacey Sotirhos said students volunteer for community service with more than 75 organization and putting in some 12,000 hours.
"We will graduate a new generation of Miss Hall's graduates, thinkers, creators, global citizens, and courage participants in a global society. Whether learning in new laboratories, exploring new courses, our students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their vision, voice, interpersonal efficacy and gumption, and be encouraged every day to contribute boldly and creatively to the common good here and far from here," Heaton said.
The residence hall is open and the academic building is expected to open in the next month.
The project to expand the 115-year-old college preparatory girls' school came together in 2013 and Flansburgh Architects of Boston was hired to design the new structures. The project was funded from a mix of donations, a $10 million tax-exempt bond from the state's MassDevelopment and purchased by NBT Bank. But getting there took years of fundraising and planning, according to Sotirhos.
Head of School Julia Heaton the school wouldn't lose its 'Miss Hall's Magic' in this expansion.
"We thank all of the generous donors who over the last three years have contributed over $18 million to support the future of the school," she said.
Construction began last July, creating some 100 construction jobs during that timeframe mostly through local contractors.
"So much of this work took place behind the scenes from many of you and with surprisingly little disruption to our day to day life," Heaton said.
Together, the two buildings open new avenues for curriculum and education to even more students. Heaton said the expansion isn't so big that students would lose the close-knit community, and what she calls "Miss Halls Magic."
Miss Hall's is one of the city's oldest schools, dating back to 1898, and one of the first all-girls boarding schools in New England. In 1909, the school moved to its current 80 acres of land on Holmes Road, the former Col. Walter Cutting estate. The current enrollment is 210, with 150 living on campus.
"This is a historic occasion for Miss Hall's School," Sotirhos said.
"These buildings represent years of planning and hard work on the part of many people and Linn Hall demonstrates the school's commitment to providing the appropriate facilities for our students and faculty. I am grateful to all who supported this project, contributed toward its completion, and stepped forward to accomplish this work. This was a bold and ambitious project, one that will set the stage for our students for years to come."
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Letter: Hope for Democracy to Prevail Amid 'Chaos and Destruction'
To the Editor:
For an enhanced understanding of the madness currently afflicting American society and politics, I strongly recommend reading Erich Fromm's "The Sane Society." Fromm, one of the preeminent social psychologists of the 20th century, draws on his background as a Jewish refugee fleeing fascist Germany to describe the ease with which vast segments of a population can rapidly become untethered from factual reality, and wholeheartedly enter the delusional world of a psychotic dictator.
Fromm labeled this phenomenon "Folie a Millions." Individuals suffering from "folie" are impervious to facts. They regard any disagreement with their worldview, any criticism of their leader, as a threat of personal annihilation.
Sadly, in 2024 America suffered from all the requisite pre-existing conditions — personal isolation, alienation, gross income inequality, fear of change, prejudice and despair — for succumbing to "folie." It is a virulently contagious form of insanity. Add to all this the distortions and misinformation promulgated by social and right wing media, and we have the perfect environment for the disaster now unfolding in our country.
I hope and believe that the many millions of Americans who understand and value our democracy, who support our judiciary, our rule of law and the system of checks and balances set forth in our Constitution, will prevail through non-violent resistance against the chaos and destruction being unleashed by the current administration.
It is futile to attempt to find common ground with insanity.
On Wednesday, the committee adopted a Safe Schools Resolution that declares the Pittsfield Public Schools a safe space for all students regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation and a safe space to explore gender identity and/or sexual orientation. click for more
The Traffic Commission approved a petition to install a reflective stop sign at the corner of Vin Hebert Boulevard and Onota Street and a reflective double arrow sign on an existing nearby guardrail. click for more
Pittsfield High's Matt Dupuis and Lee's Devyn Fillio Sunday won the boys and girls individual high school bowling State Championships at Spare Time.
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On Monday, the Historical Commission voted to approve the demolition of 676 East St pending a site visit and additional interior photos. click for more