Good Shepherd Episcopal School marked a victory worth celebrating this spring with the opening of the Hopkins Gymnasium, a facility designed to transform the student experience for years to come.
“This moment is about more than a building,” head of school Julie McLeod said during the gym’s May ribbon cutting ceremony. “It’s about what we can accomplish together. It’s about school pride and community, and the excitement of what lies ahead.”
Enthusiastic students waved red and blue pompoms while family members, alumni, and supporters applauded from around the 14,983 square-foot facility, which doubles as a category 5 storm shelter.
The gym’s completion was funded by an $11 million historic capital campaign — Good Shepherd’s most ambitious ever and first in 15 years.
The school community rose to the challenge. By mid-May, more than 600 donors had gifted about $10.5 million in under three years, said director of development Mary Duncan.
“It’s been an amazing success,” she said. “The things that we’ve been able to provide for our students are extraordinary, but also really important to their safety and wellbeing.”
The new gymnasium will be a game changer for students, explained Courtney Carrazana, who leads the school’s PE department.
In Good Shepherd’s old gymnasium, students could only be instructed as a single group. But the new, much larger space can be partitioned. While some students play basketball, others can build specific skills, discover more about the game, or focus on social and emotional learning.
The new gym includes a rock wall and classroom where students can learn yoga, practice dance, play immersive games that combine academics and athletics, or examine how they fuel their bodies through hands-on games that teach about healthy eating.
“The sky’s the limit now,” Carrazana said of future PE classes. “I can do so much more.”
The gym will also bolster learning inside the classroom. Its ability to accommodate more than one class means that all students can be at their desks at the time of day when they learn most effectively, Duncan said.
In addition to the gymnasium, the capital campaign financed safety and security enhancements, as well as dedicated space for Classroom of the Earth, Good Shepherd’s unique outdoor education program.
The school’s commitment to outdoor education begins in Pre-K and culminates in a nine-day trip to the Rocky Mountains for eighth graders, said Classroom of the Earth director Cindy Barnes.
The program builds “confidence through competence,” she explained. “This is one of the things that sets our kids apart when they go to high school. There is a confidence that comes from taking care of yourself for multiple days with just what’s in your backpack and what your team has that is hard to get from other experiences.”
During the ribbon cutting ceremony, seventh-grader Jay Landry said he was excited to show his school spirit at pep rallies, use the locker rooms, and play basketball on his homecourt after months of away games while the Hopkins Gymnasium was built.
“This new gym will help bring our community together in ways that we can never imagine,” he told the crowd. “Whether it’s a space for PE, tornado shelter, or just to have fun, it will be a great place to call home.”
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