Hundreds Gather for MICDS Groundbreaking Ceremony

Construction of MICDS’ McDonnell Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Facility and Brauer Hall and Auditorium is officially underway.

Friday morning, more than 700 people gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony of the new $40 million addition to the school, which is expected to be completed in early 2014.

Lisa Lyle, MICDS head of school, said the facility will help meet new academic standards and curriculum.

“In order to meet the novel challenges and opportunities in the world community, we must develop a better understanding of science and mathematics and we must learn to collaborate more effectively across national boundaries,” Lyle said. “To that end, we are called upon as a school and as a nation to step up in unprecedented ways to educate our students to serve as tomorrow’s leaders prepared for these challenges.”

The new facility will include:

• Nine science classroom labs
• Eight mathematics classrooms
• Two outdoor classrooms
• Greenhouse
• Plant science lab
• Robotics lab
• And an 800-seat auditorium and student commons area.

“Because the new curriculum envisioned by our faculty was constrained by existing facilities, we developed plans for a new facility with state-of-the-art classrooms – CLABS and areas for collaboration across the STEM disciplines for teachers and students alike,” Lyle said. “Dedicated space for bench research, robotics and plant sciences will allow our students opportunities for significant work in these disciplines and the chance to collaborate with local scientists and engineers. The building itself will demonstrate the school’s commitment to sustainability with as small a carbon footprint as possible, and serve as a teacher in and of itself.”