Like the inspiration for other building projects at MKA, our program has outstripped our facilities. If we want to be the school we promise, one that prepares our students for the next generation's problems, opportunities, and complexities, we need additional state-of-the-art STEM+ spaces dedicated to our STEM+ vision of learning.

A high fence will separate the construction zone from the sidewalk along Lloyd Road. Students and staff can use that path from the main building to South Campus. A path in the back of the building will also serve the same purpose. 

We hope the construction schedule holds true and most of the demolition occurs during the summer. There will obviously be noise during the project. Keeping windows closed, which we can do because all classrooms are air-conditioned, will greatly help reduce the noise in our classrooms.

Renamed “South Campus,” the Upper School gymnasium will house virtually all math and sciences classes until the building is completed. 

There will be two ways to access the gym. Students may exit the school's main entrance, walk down the driveway to Lloyd Road, and walk up to the entrance on the south side of the gym by the Head of School’s residence. Or, they may exit the building outside of Deetjen Theater and take the short path to the entrance by the Head of School's residence. 

Yes, the gymnasium will be newly (and permanently) air-conditioned before the construction of South Campus.

Yes. Science classes will still have a laboratory component. Experiments that don't require access to water or chemicals can be conducted in any of the temporary classrooms. There will also be one designated wet lab space with access to sinks, a safety shower, and an eyewash station. While AP and science research classes will be assigned to these spaces, other science classes can utilize this space when needed. Classes will also incorporate take-home labs, outdoor experiments, online simulations, and virtual reality platforms to enhance and support the student laboratory experience. MKA’s Apple Distinguished 1:1 Program is primed to support the emergent needs of students during the construction of this space.

Throughout this academic year, all classroom sessions have exclusively taken place in the Idea Lab and Health Room, and this arrangement will seamlessly transition to the new classroom structure. Practical classes will be held in the weight room, dance studio, swimming pool, and outdoor activities on Van Brunt Field (subject to weather conditions). The curriculum we currently offer will be able to be followed with this transition.

We have two gyms at the Middle School, and both will be utilized to accommodate our Middle and Upper School volleyball and basketball teams during construction. All teams (MS, JV, and V) will have opportunities to practice every day between the hours of 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. Volleyball can run a full home schedule in the Middle School's main gym. In the winter, the plan is for each basketball team to have a small number of games played at home (in the MS main gym), but most games for our basketball teams will be played on the road. 

Our number one priority will be that all our volleyball and basketball teams at all levels will have a gym and a court to practice throughout their respective season, Monday through Friday, from 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. 

In the fall season, the MS, JV, and Varsity Girls Volleyball teams will be able to utilize both Middle School gyms (upper and lower) to run their practices and games daily from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. Because there are no other MKA indoor sports/teams during the fall season, the Middle School, JV, and Varsity Girls’ Volleyball teams will have priority in the gym space. In the winter season, we are planning on staying with our traditional practice times from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. for all of our Middle School Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams and will utilize the 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. window for our JV and Varsity Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams. 

Having up to eight different Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams play a full slate of home games in the winter will be impossible as we ensure every team has a place to practice every day. Middle School, JV, and Varsity home games will be added equitably for all teams as much as the gym space and schedule permits. In addition, we will do our best to ensure that all Boys’ and Girls’ Middle School Athletic Conference, Essex County, and NJ Prep Tournament games are played at home if we are the higher-seeded team in those respective tournaments.

Yes. The school successfully rescheduled all Middle and Upper School athletics during the Spring ‘22 season. Practices and games for all teams using the Middle School fields had to be reassigned to different locations, including playing the entire home schedules for all sports on the road.

Robotics will be re-housed in the Upper School faculty room outside the Dining Hall's north entrance.

Yes.

Yes.

Not technically, but the carline will be more congested. We will ask all MKA families to travel one-way in a southern direction from Bloomfield Avenue AND require no K-turns in the middle of Lloyd Road. It will be critical for our families to follow the guidance of our security and maintenance staff during pick-up and drop-off. In another safety measure, all deliveries to the construction site will occur after 8:15 a.m. and before 2:15 p.m.

We will lose the spaces south of the scaffolding to construction trailers. We will use the “pit” off Walden Lot for extra parking. With that additional space, the parking will actually be improved.

The school plans to replace the gymnasium floor after removing the temporary classrooms. Once that project is complete, we can reopen the gym with a new floor and air conditioning.

The Inquiry and Innovation Center is on target for LEED Gold certification which denotes that the building has excelled in its sustainable design and operation. This prestigious level is indicative of the project's comprehensive adoption of best practices in sustainability. Gold-certified buildings are distinguished by their innovative approaches to energy conservation, water use reduction, and enhanced indoor air quality, among other environmental achievements. In addition to LEED Gold certification, construction of the Inquiry and Innovation Center is in line with MKA's commitment to environmental sustainability as stated in the school's mission.