Heronfield Academy Endow our Future Enhance our Programs Expand our Facilities

Case for Support From Start-up to Standout Heronfield Academy began with a dream in October 2002, when The Rev. Canon Tim Rich, then rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, recognized the need for a school that placed value on the intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual growth of middle school students. That dream turned into a reality when the doors to the school opened in the fall of 2007. Five years later, what started with a dream, many prayers, and a host of committed individuals, including an outstanding faculty, is now a middle school known as a exceptional place for young people at a pivotal time in their lives. Now is the time for us to endow our future. We need to ensure that the doors to Heronfield Academy remain open for generations to come. Now is the time for us to enhance our programs. We need our teachers to have the resources necessary so our programs remain on the cutting edge of middle school education. Now is the time to plan to expand our facilities. We need to ensure that our facilities reflect the excellence of our programs. Now is the time to set the bar higher, dream bigger, and give this school the kind of financial footing it deserves.

Now is the time to call on you to help us Endow our Future, Enhance our Programs, and Expand our Facilities 2

What are the Campaign Goals? Phase One: Endow our Future Phase One of the Campaign, lasting one to three years, allows the school’s finances to catch up to its initial rapid growth. During this phase, our primary goals are to continue to build our Reserve Fund and to plant the seeds for an endowment to ensure the future of the school. Those financial foundations will allow us to focus on three areas: 1: Support and provide for the lifelong learning of our faculty; 2: Increase our ability to offer financial assistance; 3: Enhance and expand the academic, spiritual, social, and emotional curriculum.

1: Support and provide for the lifelong learning of our faculty A hallmark of this school is the quality of our teachers. It is our mission to provide our faculty with the resources they need to design curricula that both renews and supports traditional disciplines, providing our students with the skills they need to navigate the world in which they will live. The inspiration provided by our teachers, in turn, motivates our students and deserves our support. A strong Reserve Fund (and an eventual endowment) supports our faculty in the following ways: provides competitive salaries to continue to attract and retain the best and most creative teachers allows teachers to conduct research on topics of interest so they can create new curricula encourages teachers to build interdisciplinary curricula keeps teachers at the forefront of their established fields provides funds so teachers can attend workshops and classes both in their disciplines and in new research on learning and the brain • provides technology training, so teachers can use new software for research and communication • • • • •

3

2: Increase our ability to offer financial assistance Typically, 30% of Heronfield Academy families receive some financial aid. If current families qualify for increased financial aid, or when a sibling enrolls, the amount of aid for new families is reduced. When families decline the school’s offer of enrollment, the principal reason is insufficient financial assistance, not the quality of the school’s curriculum and programs. Support for the Campaign will increase the school’s ability to maintain and attract diversity in our student body, a critical part of the school’s mission. Members of a diverse community contribute immeasurably to the well-being of one another. When encouraging children to value their own uniqueness as well as others’, diversity is the best teacher.

When families decline the school’s offer of enrollment, the principal reason is insufficient financial assistance, not the quality of the school’s curriculum...

4

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 3: Enhance and expand the academic, spiritual, social, and emotional curriculum Working with middle school students is all about character education. We place great importance on all the seemingly small conversations with students, both in the classroom as well as at recess and lunch. We know these consistently positive messages eventually add up and create patterns of equally positive behaviors in our students. Every day, young people are bombarded with messages: look like this, talk like this, think like this, focus on this, value this, and the list goes on and on. As a school, we are committed to providing time in our day to help students discuss their personal choices and learn how to remain true to themselves. We live in a complex society that urges children to grow up faster than ever before. We counter that rush to adulthood by asking students to think reflectively about their core values, the same ones that guide our life as a learning community. Student Leadership Training Retreats are used to facilitate those conversations, along with a series of invited speakers who work with our students. We would like to expand on the foundation laid in this important program in the upcoming years to ensure that the lessons learned are lasting ones.

Reverend LaFond using the making of pottery as a metaphor for creating a life.

5

Phase Two: Enhance our Programs by Expanding Our Facilities The completion of Phase One will serve as a springboard for Phase Two of the Campaign for Heronfield Academy. Phase Two, which we envision lasting five years, will allow us to plan for our more ambitious dreams of renovating our physical plant and providing the facilities our students deserve.

1: All-School Assembly Hall A school that values community must have a central gathering place, where the faculty, staff, and students can meet easily and regularly. Our students and faculty deeply value our regular school Chapels and Community Meetings. When the school comes together at these times, students and teachers get to know one another in a way that differs from their interactions in the classroom. Every time the entire school experiences a speaker together, exchanges news, celebrates or confronts challenges, community is built. Our growth as a school now means that we are running out of space in our multi-purpose room where we gather as a school. We need a place where we can comfortably fit together as a community.

From Start-Up ! !

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

To Standout

Our students and faculty deeply value our regular Chapels and Community Meetings.

6

2: Gymnasium Excellent athletic programs deserve excellent facilities. Physical education is vital as students’ classroom challenges increase; it is especially important to provide middle school students with regular opportunities to exercise so they can better focus when they return to the classroom. Middle school is the time when students can learn the value of physical exercise and the joy of trying different sports, making physical activity a lifelong habit. At Heronfield Academy we do not have adequate space for indoor activities during inclement weather, nor do we have our own gymnasium where our teams are able to practice, host games, and benefit from increased physical education offerings. Our days of being able to rent local gym facilities for practices are numbered. Anyone who knows our school, knows how quickly our athletic program has grown. Now we need to catch up to that growth to ensure continued support for these important programs.

From Start-Up!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

To Standout

Excellent athletic programs deserve excellent facilities. 7

3: Performing Arts Hall and Gallery The arts are an integral part of our core curriculum. Visual art and performing arts work important parts of the brain that are essential in these middle school years. Just as one respects the work of Einstein and Shakespeare, we also respect the work of Mozart and Monet. While most public schools and many private schools today are scaling back their commitment to the arts, Heronfield Academy stresses this aspect of a child’s education.

Performing Arts Hall: For a small school we have students with a big passion for the performing arts: Beginning Band, Chorus, Jazz Band, Chamber Music Ensemble, Jazz Choir, Jazz Combo, theater workshops, theatre productions, and Shakespeare soliloquies are included in our rich performing arts offerings! Our music program draws many admissions candidates to our school. All of our award-winning music groups have grown enormously in a remarkably short period of time, and we have clearly outgrown our facility. We need a performance hall and music practice rooms to support the program. Drama productions and concerts happen off campus at a local church and even that stage area is now too small to accommodate all of our performers. A new facility is not just a wish for our school, but an essential element in ensuring that our programs have the support they need.

From Start-Up!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

To Standout

Our students have a big passion for the performing arts!

8

4: Art Studio and Gallery: Visual art is also an essential form of expression for middle school students. Our students at each grade level are involved in cooperative and collaborative studio work. They are taught to see rather than simply look, which helps them grow in self expression that can only come through this artistic medium. A dedicated gallery space for displaying student work is essential, not only for the artist but for the school community at large. Currently we only have the small area you see below and the main staircase serving as a gallery. Moreover, our classroom space is inadequate. We are limited in what we can offer. We would like to offer sculpture, work on easels, and move beyond the small two-dimensional work our students are doing at present. We do not want our curriculum to be constrained by our space.

!

!

From Start-Up ! !

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

To Standout !

!

!

!

Just as one respects the work of Einstein and Shakepeare, we also respect the work of Mozart and Monet. No educational program is complete without the arts. 9

5: State of the Art Science Lab and Classroom All students at Heronfield Academy participate in an integrated, hands-on science curriculum each day. The strong emphasis on lab safety, knowledge of equipment, and comprehensive lab report writing requires the use of a variety of materials as well as a spacious environment. In addition, the integration of technology into the science program requires the purchase of costly lab ware to ensure that our students are properly prepared for secondary school science programs. Furthermore, now that our school has grown, the current lab area is no longer sufficient, given the types of interactive lessons in which we engage. As our school continues to increase its enrollment each year, it is essential that the science lab space and curriculum are able to expand to support that growth. It is imperative that we provide each student with a fully-equipped, updated, safe, and spacious lab area that supports the interactive nature of our lessons.

From Start-Up ! !

!

!

!

!

!

The current lab area is no longer sufficient...

To Standout

10

Why Donate Now? Other independent schools have endowments that ensure their longevity and generate yearly revenue to support their operating budgets. Heronfield Academy has no such endowment. In order to ensure the longevity of our school we need to act now! Currently we are able to pay our bills with income from tuition dollars and our annual fundraising efforts. However, in order to ensure that our teachers have the resources necessary to remain on the cutting edge in middle school education, to ensure that our facilities reflect the excellence of our programs, and to give this school the kind of financial footing it deserves, we need your support now. As we look to the future, let’s make sure Heronfleld Academy is part of it!

We have gone from Start-up....

11

To Standout.... and now we are having trouble fitting into our home!!!!

12

To Planning to Ensure Our Future!

What will our next pictures look like? Your support will determine the answer!

13

Who Will Help Us Realize Our Goals? Grandparents..... Parents.... Trustees.... Friends of the school...

Your picture here!

It is our hope that people who have an understanding of the imperative of middle school education will join us in this fundraising effort. 14

The Reserve Fund was started with a generous $10,000 matching gift. Once the matching funds came in, we receved an addtional $25,000 donation, taking us more than halfway to our initial goal of $100,000. It is imperative that we receive other gifts at this level, as well as gifts at the $10,000, $5,000, $2,500 and $1,000 levels. In order to successfully meet the goals of Phase One and Phase Two, we need to bring past and present Board members, student families, alumni families, and friends of the school into the Campaign process. Middle school education is truly a cause -- one that is honored at Heronfield. Middle school at Heronfield is rigorous, joyful, and important. It is our hope that people who have an understanding of the imperative of middle school education will join us in this fundraising effort.

Please join the team! Together we will turn dreams into reality!

You are going to have a direct and lasting effect on current and future students. You have our deepest gratitude for joining us in this cause. Endow our Future, Enhance our Programs, and Expand our Facilities 15

Heronfield Academy Mission Statement Heronfield Academy is an independent day school in the New Hampshire seacoast serving grades 6, 7, and 8. Informed by the Episcopal tradition, we are committed to the values of spiritual growth, respect for others, and appreciation of diversity. We work in alliance with our students' families to provide an innovative, nurturing, and caring environment that inspires in our students a passion for learning, academic excellence, creative exploration, physical challenge, and spiritual curiosity. We encourage our students to find the best in themselves and to make a connection with and serve their community. 356 Exeter Road Hampton Falls, New Hampshire 03844 603-772-9093

16

17