The Building
Drinkwater Hall, named for the Drinkwater sisters who brought Hillside School to Marlborough in 1927, stands where Shumway Hall used to. Shumway housed students and business offices but was destroyed by fire in 1931.
The loss of the building in the early years of the Great Depression was a hit to the school, but members and friends of the Hillside community rallied and raised funds to rebuild, completing Drinkwater Hall in 1932. After a second fire (in a different building years later), students began practicing regular fire drills, mustering hoses in the event of another fire. Drinkwater Hall has been used a dorm, business offices, the health center, and even the school's dining hall. Today's Drinkwater Hall is the second building so named: before the Shumway Fire the Malmstead House was named Drinkwater Hall, after the fire it was called The School House. In 2001, the current Drinkwater Hall transformed again into the Messman-Saran Library. |
Above, l–r: Shumway Hall after fire, 1931; Boys wash dishes in the Drinkwater Hall kitchen (c. 1961); The new Shumway Hall, later renamed Drinkwater Hall.
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The Library
Hillside School has always had a library. In the early Marlborough years, the original Drinkwater Hall (now Malmstead) housed all non-farm school activities, including a small library on the first floor. It started as a large bookcase at the back of the 5th to 8th grade room, which grew from 1927–1954.
By 1966, the library was given a dedicated space at Steven's Hall, which is now the Steven's Wing of the academic building. The Luna French Niles Memorial Library, named in memory of a trustee's wife, offered a "spacious, well-lit, and attractive room that gave Hillside boys a pleasant place to study and read." In 2001, the Student Services Building opened, with a brand new dining room and business offices. Drinkwater Hall, which was the dining room up until that point, then became the library, home to 4,500 books, 30 magazine subscriptions, a study area, and a reading room. The library also included online resources, mainly research databases. The new space brought in a renewed identity for the space and Hillside's current model of embedded librarianship began. The school's librarian has both classes and individual students in the space throughout the day, but also co-teaches and co-plans projects to introduce media skills into the core classes. In the evening, the library was used for study hall and free time. The rear of the library was nicknamed the "Skype room" for its popularity with international students. |
Above, l–r: When it was housed in Steven's Hall, the Luna French Niles Memorial Library was located in what is known today as the Music Room; The Library section of the schoolroom, 1932; Grades 5–8 in the schoolroom, notice the "library" as the large bookcase in the back corner.
Above: Hillside School Library, 2001–2016.
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The Innovation Lab
In October of 2016, Hillside Facilities and Maintenance and outside contractors completed work on the new Hillside Innovation Lab. The 3,000 square foot space was renovated to meet the needs of the iLab program, which began in 2015. Because of the constantly changing nature of the business and education worlds, Hillside leadership announced "Innovation in Education" alongside core subjects as the path forward for 21st century skill instruction. With more seating, open lines of sight, modern flooring, walls, and entryways; and new equipment like 3D printers, workshop tables, robot and drone sets, a laser cutter, and engineering tables, Drinkwater Hall has become the Messman-Saran Media Center –– a hybrid library-iLab space. Hillside's curriculum has changed too, bolstered with a physical space whose sole purpose is to foster creativity, innovation, problem solving, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Hillside Media Center Mission
It is the mission of the media center to provide for 21st century learning and to foster deep work skills through the iLab and library. Access to these spaces as an independent class for all students; an interdisciplinary, embedded resource to supplement student learning and teacher's best practices; and a drop-in open-scheduled learning commons means all students are able to come in and wonder, discover, and pursue their own interests.
Library
The Messman-Saran Library seeks to be the “heart” of the academic and research culture of Hillside, and to contribute to the intellectual activities of the Hillside School for Boys. Through a diverse collection of multi-format books and resources the library seeks to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our community.
Library
The Messman-Saran Library seeks to be the “heart” of the academic and research culture of Hillside, and to contribute to the intellectual activities of the Hillside School for Boys. Through a diverse collection of multi-format books and resources the library seeks to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our community.