Students return to an updated Sewickley Academy Senior School

Nataliya DiDomenico, Global Studies Coordinator and English as a Foreign Language teacher, sat at a new desk waiting for her first class of the school year.

“I am excited,” said DiDomenico, who is in her 14th year at Sewickley Academy. “I feel like my students will be energized. Everything is new and it has that feel of a new house when you move in. It’s a new beginning. I started to think about all the memories we are going to make here for teachers, administrators and students.”

Those memories began on the first day of classes, Aug. 27, with students getting a tour of the newly renovated school. The 260 teens were welcomed at an assembly by the new Head of Senior School Andy Gilhooly, who is also Assistant Head of School.

Gilhooly talked to the students about the new look.

“We’ve been saving it up for you,” he said. “Our teachers have been working really, really hard to get their rooms ready, to get everything ready for you to see.”

The updated Senior School building is a bright, modern and welcoming space that really reflects the energy and ambition of the students, Gilhooly said.

“The design allows for more collaboration and creativity in the classroom while also giving students many different places to connect outside of lessons,” he said. “It will make a real difference in how students learn and how they experience daily life at school.”

In his new assignment, Gilhooly said he’s been struck by the warmth of the community. The students are engaged and eager to learn and the faculty are deeply dedicated.

”Combined with this new updated facility, it creates an inspiring place to be,” he said.

As the ninth through 12th graders made their way to the Senior School, staff members held the doors open. As they moved through the building, they took in the view of a more open layout and a spacious commons area with comfortable chairs and tables. Study pods with sliding doors are perfect for group projects or quiet workspaces because they feature sliding doors that minimize outside noise.

Each of the 19 classrooms has smart boards and other state-of-the-art technology. The decor includes hints of red on the walls, a nod to one of the school colors. The design features flexible spaces that can be easily reconfigured, as the desks are equipped with wheels. One of the rooms is large enough to hold 60 students. The faculty lounge has also been updated.

A makeover of the courtyard is underway, which will have new furniture with umbrellas and Adirondack chairs in the space. Kimmel Bogrette of Blue Bell is the architect for the Senior School project. The contractor is PJ Dick.

Built in 1963, the Senior School underwent various expansion and enhancement projects through the years, with the last major update in 1999, said Matthew Stultz, communications manager for Sewickley Academy.

This project was Sewickley Academy’s largest investment since the addition of the Events Center in 2016, Stultz said.

Students were invited to offer input into the project, said Dave DeNardo, chief financial and operations officer for Sewickley Academy.

“We wanted to work with them because they will be in these spaces,” DeNardo said. “They took ownership and they learned to work with adults on the project, which is a life skill.”

Junior Sofia DiCicco, who is involved in the project, said she was excited to see the finished product.

“I really like it,” she said as she sat inside one of the study pods. “We can use these areas to do group projects. The space is way more open with lots of light. I really like school and I like this design.”

So does senior Nicholas Day, who said he was in awe when he walked into the school.

“It looks very modern, very futuristic,” said Day, president of the student body and the math club, who plays on the soccer team. “It feels very innovative. They put thought and care into it from the carpeting to every piece of furniture to everything.”

Day said Sewickley Academy gives students independence and prepares them for college. With this update, students will be motivated to work harder, Day said, adding that during his free periods and lunchtime, he plans to use the commons area. He said he appreciates having the opportunity to have such a cool space to spend his final year of high school.

Ninth grader Claire Schlueter said she and her friends like the new look of the Senior School and that it offers “a better environment for learning.”

“These rooms are really nice,” she said of the study pods.

DeNardo said they asked the students how they wanted to see the space transformed.

“This is what our family, community, faculty and students deserve,” DeNardo said. “It was a lot of hard work, but it is worth it.”