Hillside announces center opening

Marlborough - Hillside School has announced the opening of its new Academic and Health Center for its first full academic year.

"We're delighted to open the doors of our newest facility for the entire 2008- 2009 school term," Hillside School Headmaster David Z. Beecher said.

First opening its doors in March of this year, the new Academic and Health Center adds significantly to Hillside's classroom and program space. The new building includes fitness and activity rooms, a wrestling/multi-purpose room, a state-of-the-art health center, plus offices for administrators, health and wellness and counseling programs.

The center also adds nine new classrooms to the Hillside campus, including three new science labs.

A prominent feature of the new center is the use of the latest green technology in both its construction and maintenance.

Among the building's green features are use of specially tinted glass to better manage solar heating throughout the building; the implementation of recycled materials in the center's flooring, ceiling tiles, window blinds and acoustic tiles; and the use of environmentally sound materials in the manufacture of classrooms, student desk and chairs and lab stools.

Another green feature is the geothermal energy system. The system pumps cool water, stored in wells below ground, throughout the building's piping system.

Meanwhile, the building's innovative "green roof " design will someday make it possible to grow grasses and other greenery on the center's roof, thereby further reducing heating and cooling costs.

"In many ways, the new Academic and Health Center is representative of Hillside's continuing growth and commitment toward achieving excellence in junior boarding school education," Beecher said. "For this reason, we are especially grateful to our many friends and supporters who have made possible this milestone in Hillside history."

Hillside School is a junior boarding school providing structured, supportive and challenging academic opportunities to a diverse population of young adolescent boys, both traditional learners and those with learning differences, in preparation for secondary school.