Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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203 It brought it all back to what they were living." Evans says that literacy was a huge piece. "There was so much writing and poetry about the build- ing, sounds, and creation," she says. "Our mission talks about 'a com- munity of exuberant learners.' This made learning come alive." Appreciating and conserving the environment has been a Brookwood priority since its beginning almost 60 years ago. But the construc- tion project, which also created a new dining room, a "town hall" space for gathering, and a reno- vated kitchen, "literally brings the environment and nature into the classroom," Evans says, with every classroom opening to an outdoor classroom. All Lower School grades, except for pre-kindergarten, also have a shared space where classes come together. CONTACT Brookwood School One Brookwood Rd. Manchester brookwood.edu W hen Brookwood Head of School John C. Peterman strolled the hallways, he always had one of his 250 wild and crazy ties over his oxford shirt. Last June, Peterman's collection was cut by 56, when he gave each of the graduating Brookwood eighth graders a tie to remember him by. "The kids loved the ties," Peterman, 65, says, laughing lightly. "It was always something to talk about." Peterman retired from Brookwood this summer, after a tenure marked by several firsts for the independent coed day school that serves pre-kindergarten through grade eight. One was School Meeting, a weekly event with students sitting "shoulder to shoulder" on the floor with faculty, administrators, and par- ents, for a musical performance, poetry reading, or other event. He also shepherded the establishment of the Exchange Edu- cator program with teachers in China, Rwanda, and other coun- tries, and the Upper School's Advisor Program, in which a faculty member mentors small groups of students. Peterman started in education 39 years ago as an English teacher. In 1992, he joined Brookwood, founded in 1956 as an alternative school; to this day it embraces a refreshing air of egalitarianism. "We give out about $2 million of financial aid every year," Peterman says. "The vast majority of our parents are working parents." Handing the reins to his successor, Laura Caron, is bittersweet. Peterman and his wife, Katherine, are excited about the prospect of spending more time with their new grandson, Jack. But then there are the other youngsters in his life, the Brookwood stu- dents. "I've been a part of this community for 23 years," Peter- man says. "I'm definitely going to miss the many adult friend- ships I made here, but also the daily interactions with the kids, whether it's a four-year-old or a 14-year-old. They fill my heart with joy." Of the ties he gave away at graduation, one printed with dollar bills went to a young student who had coveted it—not, as Peter- man had suspected, because it's printed with money, but because of its long-lasting coffee stain. Peterman relates the student's comment when they spoke: "Every time I see it, I think of you." "The building is a direct partner [with] the way they teach," says ar- chitect Siemasko. "It partners in the learning. It's not just bricks and mor- tar. A building can really facilitate a function; in this case, it's learning." To top it off, the project was completed under budget and ahead of schedule by three months. "It was built on a team spirit," Meurer says. "That always makes for a suc- cessful project." Retired Head of School John C. Peterman Opposite left, spacious and flooded with natural light, the classrooms are conducive to learning. Left, a little one is ready to start school. photographs by, left to right, Shelly Harrison, Angela Coppola, and Kristie Hambrecht FAREWELL TO MR. PETERMAN