Almost every classroom at Dana Hall is filled with books, posters on the wall, and notebooks from past years filling up the shelves. Now, teachers have been instructed to move everything out of their classrooms by the first week of June – every book, every poster, and every notebook.

Starting this summer, Dana Hall is going under construction. The Upper School Classroom Building, which opened for teaching in 1958, is being gutted and then renovated as a bigger, more modern building for students and faculty. Everything is being rebuilt except for the Science/Library Wing. The new plans include the first, second and garden (choral room) floors. 

The teachers have already started clearing their classrooms out, and will have to be done in one month. Exam week ends on June 2, and the movers are coming to take teachers’ boxes on June 6, the day before teachers’ year-end grades and comments are due. 

Charlie Breslin, Chief Financial and Operating Officer, sent an email on March 7, telling faculty to do four things while clearing out their classrooms: Purge, Trash, Books, and Labels. 

He wrote, “For the purge, if you haven’t used it or don’t know why it is there, get rid of it. Trash and recyclable materials will be picked up daily. The school will be donating old books no longer needed to More Than Words. Write your last name on every label, and level every box.” 

So, faculty have been working hard to get their classrooms emptied out before the end of the school year, and will have to plan ahead to ensure that they are able to get their grades and comments submitted on time as well.

World Languages Department Head and Latin teacher Ms. Jacqui Bloomberg said, “I feel nostalgic about moving out of the Classroom Building. I’ve been in this room for 32 years.” 

She continued, “I worked over spring break and got some help from my wife and my daughter packing up. I’ve tried to tackle one new area at the end of every day. Both my daughters are coming to help me as well, and my plan is to get the room packed up before the deadline because I like to get things done ahead of time.”

English Department Head Ms. Linda Derezinski said, “I’ve packed one box so far, which the buildings and grounds people got immediately for me. They were incredibly responsive. I don’t have that much stuff anyway.” 

She continued, “I am hopeful that once my seniors go on senior projects, I’ll have more time. My plan is to pack during what normally would be my senior classes. I am sending a lot of stuff to archives, like the old Hallmanac articles from when they used to be on paper.”

Ms. Derezinski remarked, “I am so excited to move out of the building and I don’t mind packing up. It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it.”

Image: Teachers are purging their shelves and boxing up books to donate.