PAGES TO KEEP
Peck News Digital Companion: Spring 2019
PECK NEWS DC ARCHIVE TREE
Copy of Peck News Digital Companion
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Turning Another Page in the Higgins Library

While Peck students turned the pages on their required summer reading, our beloved Higgins Library turned a page of its own. In keeping with The Peck School’s commitment to honoring ‘timeless traditions’ while fostering ‘timely transformation,’ the library underwent some impressive alterations during the summer of 2018.
“Flexible spaces are a big priority in Peck’s new master plan—spaces that can be used for a variety of teaching and learning purposes,” said Head of School Andy Delinsky. “We are excited about the versatility we added to the Higgins Library, without fundamentally altering the beautiful space or taking any books out of circulation.”

Physical books are still a vital presence at Peck. Especially in a K-8 environment, they are immersive, immediate, and irreplaceable. The library will continue to support the traditional role of books in our curriculum, and the renovations augment that tradition by creating additional areas for creative interaction and small group learning.

When the Higgins Library debuted nearly 12 years ago, the sunny, inviting space immediately became a natural hub for individual exploration, investigation, and research. Over the years, as demands of project-based learning and collaboration have increased, the Higgins Library also transformed into an active, critical junction at the crossroads of gradelevel and multi-disciplinary exploration.

Peck’s librarian Mary Kate MacVicar was closely involved in this evolution of the Higgins space. “I am very excited about the changes to the library. The newly re-imagined space takes the library from a traditional library design to a learning commons model. This means a place where students explore information in all formats, collaborate together to learn, and have the tools and space to create new content,” she explains.

Working closely with the architects and designers, the committee responsible for the renovation (including MacVicar, the administrative team, and additional teachers) selected furniture and envisioned small physical changes that would help facilitate student learning, and reflect modern methods of teaching. An additional small group meeting room has been added, with new items for media creation (i.e. green screen and filming equipment), and for collaboration and content creation.

A Harkness room was sectioned off for class use to facilitate The Harkness Method, which fosters learning through discussion and discovery and the development of a student’s individual voice and academic confidence. New, flexible furniture can be reconfigured into a variety of arrangements for students to work together or to separate for quiet study and reading.

The library’s iconic story room received doors, allowing the room to function for both quiet story time and as additional presentation and performance space. A new centrallylocated circulation desk allows students to work closely with the librarian to find the information they need. The committee also chose some bright new color choices to reflect the vibrant nature of the school.

“Teachers are flocking to the enhanced Higgins Library for classes because it can be used for so many different reasons,” Delinsky said. “There are both big and small teaching areas, where students can spread out, or be grouped together for sessions. It is a great space and a perfect blend for quiet individual study and reflection, as well as group activity and collaboration.”
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THE PECK SCHOOL

247 South Street  |  Morristown, NJ  07960
973-539-8660
Northern New Jersey's timeless and transformative co-ed independent elementary and middle school education for grades K-8.