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“We thought that the gym space impacts<br />

student learning and student well-being most<br />

directly, and therefore that prioritized it as<br />

a major need,” said Head of Upper School<br />

John Stegeman.<br />

Some questioned why a new gym was<br />

e art building will be complete in August. The STEAM park will take several years.<br />

prioritized over <strong>MPH</strong>’s performing arts space,<br />

which many would agree is in need of attention.<br />

The performing arts center has certainly<br />

not been forgotten.<br />

Over the last 15 years, there have been<br />

several plans about what should be built and<br />

where it should be built, Dunaway said, and<br />

these plans have often included a new performing<br />

arts center.<br />

“I would say a performing arts area is<br />

high on the list of next big projects,” Mezzalingua<br />

said.<br />

According to Dunaway, making that<br />

change is challenging. There isn’t space for a<br />

big performing arts center. The barn has value<br />

to many, but it isn’t all that safe anymore,<br />

despite being a staple of <strong>MPH</strong>.<br />

“Some people would be glad to<br />

see the barn go; in fact, they see it as a<br />

tinderbox waiting to burn,” Dunaway<br />

said. “Others are very attached to it<br />

emotionally, not just people who are<br />

here now but some alums.”<br />

The performing arts curriculum is<br />

a big part of the <strong>MPH</strong> culture, just as<br />

the sports program is, and <strong>MPH</strong> wants<br />

to recognize that.<br />

“For those who do athletics, just<br />

as for those who do theater or music,<br />

that’s a big part of who they are and<br />

what motivates them.” Dunaway said.<br />

“There’s no reason our sports can’t be<br />

as impressive as our arts.”<br />

After the completion of the gym,<br />

the STEAM park will be built. The current<br />

gym will then be repurposed as<br />

an admissions and fine arts center, and<br />

also as a replacement of Lehman.<br />

“I think it’s important to note<br />

that it’s more than a new gym,” Mezzalingua<br />

said in his email. “There are<br />

four entirely new spaces —art gallery,<br />

STEAM park, gym, plus the renovation<br />

to Bradlee. These are major moves<br />

that will completely revitalize the<br />

school, and the whole place will feel<br />

like a new campus when they are all<br />

completed.”<br />

Looking ahead five years, Dunaway,<br />

Crane and Mezzalingua share<br />

big ideas and hopes for the future.<br />

The future is bright; <strong>MPH</strong> Rising<br />

is going to give campus some much-needed<br />

changes — changes that lead further away<br />

from the crisis.<br />

“When I came on board a few years ago,<br />

people were talking about whether the school<br />

would survive,” Dunaway said. “I don’t even<br />

want to hear that. I’m thinking about what<br />

the school is going to look like 100 years from<br />

now, 200 years from now. It will still be here;<br />

it will just look different.”<br />

Manlius Pebble Hill is here to stay.<br />

winter 2017 | 29

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