There’s new excitement on a historic campus in Fox Chapel.
Shady Side Academy Rockwell Middle School has officially opened on the Senior School campus along Fox Chapel Road.
The $26 million project brings grades 6-12 together on the same campus.
The private boarding and day school has been educating students since 1883.
Led by the sounds from bagpiper Walter McGhee dressed in full Scottish attire, hundreds of Shady Side Academy students in grades 6-8 were met with cheers from their Senior School peers, faculty and staff as they walked across the quad to begin their first day Jan. 6.
An early-morning assembly for the senior and middle school students was held before the start of classes Jan. 6.
Key speakers were Shady Side Academy eighth grader Patrick Brunins, senior Rhyley Bendel, President Bart Griffith and Head of Middle School Michelle Merson.
“This is a new beginning, smack in the middle of a school year. In that way, this new building is a lot like middle school itself. Middle school is a fresh start right in the throes of growing up. You’re not starting over, but you are being given new tools, new perspectives, and you’re learning how to think more deeply and ask better questions. You’re building empathy and learning how to understand others,” Merson said. “You’re forming new friendships, discovering new interests and seeing a wider world. This building does the same thing. It doesn’t change who you are — who we are — but it does give you the tools to become who you are becoming.”
Rockwell is a two-story, modern 49,000-square-foot building featuring a library and multipurpose glass-walled classroom, separate band and choral rooms, expansive windows and sweeping views of the surrounding campus and grounds, a dining hall and stage area, a STEAM-themed maker space connected to an art room.
The school and building design prioritized creating multifunctional spaces to inspire a sense of community and encourage academic collaboration and socialization.
Common areas feature seating for students, and there’s even a small stage underneath the open staircase — inspired by the former grand spiral staircase in the former middle school on Benedum Road.
The $26 million building is LEED certified and has solar roof panels and stormwater collection tanks.
Seventh grader Leila Khalil checked out the new, tall lockers during her first day and deemed them wonderful.
“My favorite part is the lockers because they are taller and larger than the old. They have more room for our binders and snacks,” she said.
The unveiling was more than two years in the making and funded by $32 million in donations spearheaded by Shady Side Academy’s chief philanthropy officer Jamie Scott. The largest donation included a $15 million donation in 2022 by Shady Side Academy 1962 alumnus and Fox Chapel resident S. Kent Rockwell and his partner, Pat Babyak.
The Jan. 6 assembly for the senior and middle school students kicked off with pianist and eighth grader Michael Sinnott leading the audience with a singing of the school song.
Many students were impressed with the technologically advanced building, which is much larger than the previous middle school.
Sixth grader Anthony Baumgartner was impressed by the dining hall area’s spacious outdoor patio.
“My favorite part is the outside patio because I get to have lunch with my friends out there and it’s fun to be outside,” he said.
Sixth grader Enzo Lignelli noticed the numerous collaborative spaces throughout the two-story building.
“My favorite is the collaborative space because it’s very spacious and I can get with my homework with my friends,” he said.
All of the classrooms have a breakout room dubbed a “teaming space” that provides a quiet, separate space for students.
Rockwell Middle School seventh grade English teacher Lauren Cannon settled into her new classroom in the days leading up to the opening.
“It’s incredible, exciting, and everything feels open and fresh,” Cannon said. “It’s really nice having all of the teachers on the same floor now, but this building feels like we’re all centered here.”
All of the classroom furniture is wheeled for easy movement and to provide flexibility in classroom arrangement.
Rockwell choir director Jeremy Fisher teaches 103 students and said his new choral room with a soaring ceiling and risers is “amazing.”
“The risers, the acoustics, we didn’t have that in the old school and this is a big upgrade, and this size of room and the capacity is needed. The risers actually simulate how the students will be positioned while performing,” Fisher said. “When I first walked in here, I was amazed. This really does feel like a collegiate rehearsal room.”
A path leads from Rockwell to the Senior School’s McIlroy Building, where seventh and eighth graders will have science classes in the same state-of-the-art labs as the Senior School students.
One of the stairwells showcases a vibrant mural commissioned by local artist Gregg Valley. Navigating the stairs provides views of a majestic oak tree near the quad that’s over 100 years old.
“We saved the tree, and the building was literally built around the tree,” said Diana Toole, Shady Side Academy’s chief marketing officer.
The mural has a few nods to the Shady Side Academy crest and includes images of a quill, torch and book.
World Studies sixth grade teacher Molly Braver has filled her room with a variety of worldwide objects and information, including a 1906 newspaper reporting on an earthquake.
“It’s this amazing,” Braver said as she pointed to her new light-filled modern room on the second floor.
The entire project finished on budget and on time.
Rockwell’s average class size is 18 students.
Griffith, Shady Side Academy’s 13th president, closed out the inaugural first-day assembly offering encouragement, enthusiasm and noted the impact Rockwell ushers in for current students and future generations of students.
“As you walk into the doors of Rockwell, you step into a new chapter of Shady Side Academy,” Griffith said. “One that will shape how we learn, how we lead and how we belong for decades to come.”
Seventh grader Alaina Hadley is thrilled to be on the senior campus now.
“I don’t have to take the bus to sports at the end of every day. We don’t have to rush as much anymore, and we have more time for class, athletics, practice and time with friends,” she said.