Sneak peek—brand-new Hunnewell Elementary School opens Monday
The grand opening of Hunnewell Elementary School marks a momentous occasion for Wellesley as the town continues to replace its aging educational facilities with new buildings. The original school on Cameron Street, built in 1938, was razed in June 2022 to make way for the brand-new $55 million, 76,500 sq. ft., building, which will have 18 classrooms (with capacity for a 19th). We took a tour and were wowed by the modern design, spacious classrooms, and cutting-edge technology. But the quiet was eerie, the tidiness aggressive. That all changes on Monday, Feb. 26, when the school gets christened with kids and all that comes with them. The school looks ready to absorb plenty of energy and chaos as this new chapter unfolds in the town’s education of future generations.
Join us on a tour. (Public tours of the new Hunnewell School are planned for May 17-19 during Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend.)
Front entrance of Hunnewell Elementary School. The building phase of the project began in June 2022 with the razing of the old 36,000 square-foot, one-level building and its 15 classrooms. The new Hunnewell is a 75,000 square-foot, two-story, 19-classroom school and will welcome students, faculty, and staff on Monday, Feb. 26.
Students and teachers since 2023 have been divvied up among other schools under a swing space plan. We’ve heard those schools don’t want to give up the Hunnewell kids and teachers, a story we’ll be following closely should an actual rebellion break out.
Hunnewell principal Ellen Quirk is all smiles in the new front office. She will welcome 202 students when Hunnewell opens after February vacation. An expected 289 kids will attend Hunnewell next year since the building will hold the Therapeutic Learning Center (TLC), the district program for students with social and emotional needs.
Grades 1-5 classrooms are 850-1,050 sq.ft., and kindergarten classrooms are 1,150 sq.ft. The school was built around the idea of a learning neighborhood concept, in which the classrooms for each grade open out into a pod area—a common learning and “neighborhood” space. “What came up during the planning process at community forums was how families wanted the school to have a neighborhood feel to it,” Principal Ellen Quirk said during our tour. We weren’t the first to take a look around—Hunnewell families earlier were invited to an open house. “Kids love their classrooms and learning areas,” Quirk said. One student (a budding architect?) referenced “The light and the movement of the building.”
Science classroom. Every classroom has a sound field system, which allows sound to be distributed around the room so someone sitting furthest away from the teacher, for example, can hear just as well as those closest to the instructional action.
The main cafeteria sits about 160. There are also a couple of tables in a “quiet cafeteria” alcove, slightly away from the madding crowd. A popular change: food prep happens at Hunnewell now, meaning that lunches are made by staff onsite, rather than brought in premade from another location. All Massachusetts public school students are eligible for state-mandated free lunches, which was last year voted into the budget. Hunnewell students are about evenly divided between those who are all-in on school lunches, and those who brown bag it from home.
Stage area for assemblies and performances at the front of the cafeteria.
From this angle you can see the cafeteria at the end of the gym. A door slides to separate the two areas. At 7,000 sq. ft., the gym space exceeds state standards by 1,000 sq. ft. Wellesley decided that with its central location, the Hunnewell gym was well situated to be a community resource, warranting the extra space. One of the high school basketball teams has already reserved the space for its after-school practices.
The gym also has a rock wall, a scoreboard, and bleacher seating for 100.
Another hugely popular space during Hunnewell families tour night was the library, a bright and open space where students can immerse themselves in a good book.
Community resource dog Winnie stopped by for a tour with a couple of friends from the Wellesley Police Department. The four-year old English Cream Golden Retriever wanted to get the lay of the land before those she’s sworn to serve and protect get there. From left: Hunnewell principal Ellen Quirk; Sharon Gray, WPS communications, & media relations liaison; Officer Kathy Poirier; and Officer Tana DiCenso. Winnie and DiCenso are inseparable, living, training, and riding together.
The Playground. Not sure what that white stuff on the ground is.
Two “tree cookies” have been preserved from Hunnewell’s much-loved 200 year-old white oak, felled in 2020 after it was deemed by an arborist to be a high-risk tree. One cookie will be mounted on a wall in a high-traffic area on the first floor. Another will be a table surface.
A generator and the dumpsters are tucked away out of sight behind barriers.
Electric vehicle charging stations. Exterior lights around the school pool downward to keep light pollution to a minimum. Most lights are motion activated and do not stay on all night.
Accidents during construction: One. A worker fell and broke both ankles while changing a light bulb.
Kindergarten and first-grade classrooms are on the first floor.
3rd, 4th, 5th grade classrooms are on the second floor.
There are three classrooms and a learning common for each grade.
Maximum building capacity of 400 -425 students.
All exterior doors have double security. Staff must badge in twice. Visitors must be buzzed in through the front door.
The building is is “net-zero ready.” The future addition of solar panels is expected to get it to that goal.
All-electrical building.
Note for future generations—the time capsule is not in a wall, it is in a bench.
Wellesley’s seven elementary schools are: Bates, Fiske, Hardy, Hunnewell, Schofield, Sprague, and Upham. A new Hardy School is under construction. Upham School will close at the end of this school year. The following schools are not currently under discussion for closing or for major renovation: Bates, Fiske, Schofield, and Sprague.
Wellesley has one middle school, which has undergone renovations in recent years.
Wellesley has one high school. The old WHS was torn down and a new building opened to students in February 2012.
