When we give to make the institution better, we are collectively making a difference in our world. “
A HISTORIC YEAR FOR GIVING!
Dear McGillis Families and Friends,
Last year, we shared our first Impact Report, a celebration of our kehilah’s philanthropy and its positive impact on The McGillis School. In this report, we are pleased to share how 2024/2025 was a historic year for giving at McGillis!
For years, we have created momentum towards the school year we just experienced. From Back to School Nights and Magpie Markets to Trivia Nights and private concerts at Red Butte, our gatherings have sustained our community’s culture, deepened our connection, and made us stronger. Along the way, our understanding of philanthropy has also grown. We know that giving to something we care about deeply—our children’s school—is a worthy and influential way to help it flourish and thrive.
2024/2025 was a year of Growing Together, the name of our capital campaign—just the second campaign in the School’s history and the first since 2010. This campaign was rooted in four main goals: 1) improve our outdoor spaces, including adding a new field, playground, and outdoor classrooms; 2) support the acquisition of West Campus; 3) bring TLC classes into our Main Building; and 4) enhance campus safety and security.
Donations poured in at every level from every corner of our kehilah, including students who gave their coins and dollar bills. By mid-June, just one year after our campaign launch, 421 donors propelled us beyond our $5.2M goal! Along the way, we had quality time with our families—past and present—and they shared some of the most inspiring McGillis stories we have ever heard.
In addition to Growing Together and the totals you’ll see below, our Endowment reached a record high, thanks to receiving the final installment from Joanne McGillis and additional Endowment gifts.
We are extremely proud of our historic year of giving, but we can’t stop there. Your ongoing philanthropic support is critical for the ongoing success of our school. The McGillis mission, vision, and values have never mattered more. We embrace diversity and inclusion, and our teachers and curriculum foster curiosity, independent thinking, and a joy of learning.
When we give to make the institution better, we are collectively making a difference in our world. We hope that as you read through this Impact Report, you will feel as amazed and grateful as we are to be a part of this great school, its important mission, and our impressive kehilah
Let’s celebrate! We hope you can visit us soon and see for yourself the difference that giving has made for McGillis.
With appreciation,
Jim Brewer
Cory Sinclair Head of School Chair, Board of Trustees
YOUR IMPACT ON OUR STUDENTS
Did You Know?
Magpies are one of the most intelligent birds ever studied! As a member of the family commonly called “Corvids,” they are known to be curious and resourceful. They even repurpose anti-bird spikes in building their nests to keep other birds away!
In every grade, from the youngest McGillis Magpies to the oldest, our students live up to their namesake traits: They are inquisitive and innovative, generating creative solutions to complex problems.
Your philanthropic investment nurtures our Magpies and the signature programs that help them soar. Thanks to your support, students leave McGillis full of the desire and skills they need to repair the world.
The McGillis Fund is the School’s largest and most important annual fundraising effort.
The McGillis Fund
Supporting every student, every day
Why is The McGillis Fund so important? you might wonder. The short answer: Tuition alone does not cover everything provided by a McGillis education. The McGillis Fund fills that gap! All McGillis Fund revenue is raised, received, and spent within the same school year.
McGillis is special thanks to our diverse, motivated, and kind student body; exceptional faculty and staff who know and care about our students; a strong academic program supported by innovative teaching; and an inclusive community committed to our six Jewish values.
In 2024/2025, 305 donors gave $295,848 to make a difference to Every Magpie, Every Day. And that’s in addition to the tremendous giving many of these same donors made to our capital campaign, Growing Together.
Thank you for investing in McGillis!
Your Giving in Action!
Your giving in 2024/2025 made a difference across our kehilah and provided exceptional experiences like these:
13 student Drama performances
22 cow eyeballs dissected
8 gallons of vinegar & 5 pounds of baking soda used in Middle School Science
1,000+ pancakes served during Pancake Bar
4 Outdoor Environmental Education (OEE) urban hikes each week
30 different instruments played in Music
2,752 art projects created
14 Elephant Toothpaste demonstrations in Lower School Science
2 American Kestrels observed from the Outdoor Classroom
The Hal J. Pos Memorial Scholarship
Our first Hal J. Pos Scholar has finished their first year at McGillis! This young student’s journey is just what the Pos family hoped for when they established the fulltuition scholarship in his name in 2023.
The Hal J. Pos Memorial Scholarship honors Hal, a longtime McGillis Trustee and father of Hannah, Class of 2012. He believed in the positive impact of the McGillis experience and embodied the School’s values right up to the end of his life. Hal’s love for the School was evident, and his dedication to advancing the School’s mission was constant.
This scholarship is awarded to a student who demonstrates financial need and, like Hal, embodies the McGillis values. Priority is given to students from underrepresented backgrounds and supports the student throughout their time at McGillis.
$713,988 Fund balance (as of 6/30/2025)
Scan to learn more about giving to the Hal J. Pos Memorial Scholarship!
Hal J. Pos Former trustee and parent of Hannah ‘12
Magpies Fly to Seattle for Regional Leadership Event
In March 2025, eight McGillis Middle School students attended the Student Leadership Diversity Retreat (SLDR) sponsored by our accrediting organization, the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS).
The group included three 6th graders, four 7th graders, and one 8th grader, all of whom submitted applications with personal essays to a McGillis selection committee. Middle School Humanities Teacher Madeline Tank and Middle School
TLC Writing and Humanities Teacher Jamie Ortwein accompanied the students on the whirlwind two-day, one-night trip.
“Looking In and Out: Learning and Leading Across Difference” gave our students the opportunity to connect with other student leaders from the region and participate in affinity spaces. They also learned how to execute a plan to bring inspiration back to their schools. They came back to Utah inspired to create affinity groups at McGillis, and that process is already underway!
6th Grade Student, SLDR Attendee “
“I thought affinity groups were empowering…[we talked] about our experiences and facilitators had questions. It was nice to see people who had things in common with you…people you connect to and share good and bad experiences with.”
“I was so impressed with how [our students] embraced every challenge, leaned into new experiences, and made the most of each moment.”
Madeline Tank, Middle School Humanities Teacher “ “
Encouraging STEM in Lower School Science
Thanks to a $10,000 restricted gift*, our Lower School Science teacher, Laura Babcock, was able to add LEGO SPIKE kits to her classroom!
The donors requested that their gift be used to enhance students’ learning experience in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and LEGO SPIKE does just that. By integrating hands-on learning with robotics and coding, this exciting classroom tool will provide our students in grades 1-5 with a fun and engaging way to develop essential 21st century skills.
LEGO SPIKE would not have been possible without this generous gift. Thank you!
Benefits of LEGO SPIKE:
*What is a restricted gift?
A restricted gift augments our program by providing funding for specific projects or departments. These gifts are utilized immediately and impact every Magpie.
Promotes STEM education: LEGO SPIKE introduces students to the principles of coding and robotics in a creative and interactive manner.
Enhances critical thinking: Students can design, build, and program their own robots, fostering problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Encourages collaboration: LEGO SPIKE encourages teamwork and collaboration as students work together to complete challenges and projects.
Supports creativity: Through open-ended projects, students have the opportunity to unleash their creativity and imagination.
Real-world application: LEGO SPIKE provides a hands-on approach to learning that simulates real-world engineering and programming tasks.
Windows and Mirrors With Two Nationally Acclaimed Authors
At McGillis, we say that our Library is a place of “windows and mirrors”—a space filled with books that provide a glimpse into others’ experiences (windows), and also with books that reflect students’ experiences back to them (mirrors).
Through our annual series “Tikkun Olam: One Story at a Time,” McGillis Librarian Heather Novotny hosts diverse authors who broaden our students’ exposure to those windows and mirrors.
In 2024/2025, we hosted not one but two New York Times bestselling authors: Christina Soontornvat and Judd Winick.
Christina spoke to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders while on her tour for her newest book, The Squad She is the first and only writer to earn two Newbery Honor medals in one year—one for fiction, and one for nonfiction. Christina told our Magpies stories of growing up in her family’s Chinese and Thai restaurant in a small Texas town, and how she can connect to kids through her writing because she knows what it feels like to not fit in.
Judd is a renowned cartoonist and creator of the Hilo series, popular with all ages from kids to adults. He shared that when he was growing up, he read many books in which female characters didn’t have “cool jobs,” so he set out to change that in his own writing. Our Lower School students recognized that Judd’s Jewish values align with our McGillis values, and how they see those values shine through his characters’ choices— in particular derech eretz (respect for all).
GrandFriends Day
GrandFriends Day is one of our favorite days of the year, when grandparents and special friends have the unique opportunity to experience a day at McGillis and celebrate their special role in our kehilah (community).
More than 400 guests joined us on April 4, 2025 to visit students in their classrooms, share lunch in Family Groups, and enjoy an all-school Shabbat, where we sang and shared stories of generosity and generational connection.
Our guests also gathered in the MAC to hear updates from Head of School, Jim Brewer, including a special Growing Together announcement just for GrandFriends: One generous McGillis grandparent had pledged a $50,000 matching gift if the GrandFriend community could raise $100,000 toward our capital campaign. Thanks to the support of GrandFriends who answered that call, we not only met the matching amount, but we exceeded it! You can read more about the success of the Growing Together Campaign on page 27.
We are so grateful for the many ways these special family members and friends enrich the lives of our students and our entire kehilah. We can’t wait to have them back in the 2025/2026 school year!
YOUR IMPACT ON OUR TEACHERS
Did You Know?
Magpies, along with other members of the Corvid family (crows and ravens), are known for using tools and for gathering in groups to roost together.
Our teachers, like our Magpie mascot, are resourceful and creative, gathering a wide variety of tools in their classrooms to help our students learn.
Every day of the school year, they collaborate: in grade-level teams; between homeroom, Reading Intervention, and Specialties teachers; between The Learning Center and the larger program. Our teachers gather to share, plan, and problem-solve, all for the benefit of their students.
Your giving supports our teachers by providing opportunities for professional development, continuing education, and experiential learning, elevating their craft and benefiting our Magpies for years to come.
THE McGILLIS FUND
Supporting every teacher, every day
Seeking to Understand With Dr. Karen Tao
Because McGillis is an independent school, our teachers have the freedom to design innovative lesson plans that empower students to be curious and courageous learners, all while weaving in connections with our school values.
In addition to supporting students by closing the gap, The McGillis Fund also supports our faculty in vital ways. From classroom supplies to professional development opportunities, your giving helps McGillis teachers be their very best for students and for each other!
Our theme for the 2024/2025 school year, Seek to Understand, was a reminder to our community in the midst of a U.S. Presidential election: Honor others’ feelings and opinions, even when we might disagree with each other.
To dig more deeply into our theme, Dr. Karen Tao, Assistant Clinical Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Utah, worked with McGillis faculty and staff multiple times throughout the year. Her August workshop, “Cultivating Cultural Fortitude,” guided faculty and staff through solo exercises and small-group discussions about our identities and how they shape our world views. She then returned for five after-school coaching sessions open to faculty and staff.
Thanks to support from The McGillis Fund, teachers felt empowered to adapt Dr. Tao’s lessons for their students. Monica Gomez, 2nd Grade Teacher, shared:
“Karen Tao’s coaching sessions were an inspiration to spend more time engaging in critical and courageous conversations in the classroom and community. [In my class,] we dove deeper into our identities, and students worked with their families to explore and discuss their own. They then created a classroom puzzle to celebrate and display their unique cultural backgrounds.”
TLC Impact Fund 2024/2025 Impact
In December 2022, McGillis parents Chris and Kelly Manning established the TLC Impact Fund with the goal of making a meaningful difference in the lives of students in The Learning Center (TLC). Their generous gift of $100,000 provides resources to invest in professional development for our faculty and curriculum, and to create opportunities to educate our community about neurodiversity.
We look forward to the many ways in which the TLC Impact Fund will continue to contribute to further learning for TLC teachers, growth in TLC curriculum, and a shared understanding of the unique gifts of neurodiverse learners!
Fund Highlights:
• Critical Executive Function training for TLC teachers through a year-long study based on the book Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents by Peg Dawson and Richard Guare.
• Nicky Henderson, TLC 3rd Grade Teacher, attended a day-long training titled “Elementary School Avoidance and Other Anxiety Challenges: Plans for Helping Younger Students and Their Parents.”
• Laura Bradford, TLC 5th Grade Teacher, took a three-month course through Landmark College titled “Understanding and Supporting Diverse Learners.” Learning focused on evidence-based practice to help address executive function challenges among diverse learners.
• Mary Kimball, TLC Director, attended the International Dyslexia Association’s annual conference in Dallas, Texas to hear about the latest research in the dyslexia field.
• We were a proud premium sponsor of the annual Wasatch Reading Summer conference held in Fall 2024 in Salt Lake City.
• The TLC Impact Fund supports important association membership fees that provide learning and networking opportunities throughout the year. We are a founding member of the Association of Learning Differences Schools (ALDS), as well as a member school with the International Dyslexia Association.
A Joyful Family Adventure in Yellowstone National Park
On a sunny morning in October, my wife, my son, and I jumped into our car and headed toward Yellowstone National Park. We wanted to enjoy the last moments of the fascinating nature before snow dominated the wild. The driving was relaxing and the view was beautiful. As we escaped away from the maddening crowd, our attention was on the mountains, trees, rivers, and beyond. Fall is the best season of the year—those colorful trees, cool and fresh air in the countryside. It calls me to slow down the pace of my life, to enjoy the beauty of nature, and to appreciate everything, everyone around me.
On the way to Yellowstone, we saw the Grand Tetons and Jackson Lake as we drove. The beautiful sun set on the far-away mountains with clean and quiet water underneath them, which was beyond my description. All I could do is to be present with my loved ones. As the sky was getting darker and darker, we were getting closer and closer to our destination. At one point, my son saw a giant moose at the right side of the road, and he was so excited to take some photos, although it was too dark. It seemed to me that the moose was looking around both ways and prepared to cross the road. We were so happy and excited about the coming adventure.
Yellowstone was not new to me. I had been there twice: My first time visiting was about 14 years ago with some of my college friends, and my son Humphrey was not born. The second time was in 2021. Humphrey was with us and we all wore face masks because of the pandemic. I knew that this time was different. The pandemic had gone away and my son was a 6th grader in Middle School!
Our cabin was one of the many cabins scattered behind the Old Faithful Lodge, close to a creek. It was a nice place, and a few minutes’ walk leads to the famous Old Faithful geyser. You can walk into the Lodge, buy a cup of coffee, sit in the lobby, and watch
the wonderful Old Faithful for a whole day without feeling bored.
My son loved going to the lobby with me early in the morning to either enjoy the geyser or look for wild animals. And indeed, we saw a bison on one of the mornings! It was outside the Lodge, eating the grass. We walked around it, looked at it from different angles, and of course, we kept a safe distance from it. There were people nearby that morning, and they all enjoyed being accompanied by the bison, but no one disturbed the harmony. People, animals, plants—we are all part of nature and have coexisted for such a long time. We will keep going on the journey together in the future.
The following several days in Yellowstone were filled with joy, as well. My son became our guide and led us to different trails and explored many geysers with geological importance. I was surprised by how much he knew about Yellowstone, and I knew he learned them at school. I want to thank all his teachers for teaching him and helping him to be curious about nature.
I also want to thank my wife for planning this wonderful trip. Without her diligent work and detailed plan, I couldn’t have such an experience with my family.
Finally, I want to express my gratitude to the Norris and Baughman families for establishing the Robert Norris Award for Excellence in Teaching Award and for supporting me in my own unique way of teaching. As a student of the world, my experience in Yellowstone will, for certain, help enrich the world of our students.
Dr. Peng Yang, Middle School Math Teacher 2024 Robert Norris Award recipient
Norris Award Becomes an Endowed Fund
The Robert Norris Award was established in 2008 by McGillis alumni parents and grandparents from the Baughman and Norris Families, in memory of their brother and son, Robbie. The Award was originally established as an annual award, but last year, the Baughman and Norris families made contributions to establish the Robert Norris Excellence in Teaching Endowment Fund. This fund will exist in perpetuity, with its annual growth providing the funds for award recipients well into the future.
We are honored that the Baughman and Norris family chose to honor our teachers by creating this endowed fund!
$131,947 Fund balance (as of 6/30/2025)
Prior Award Recipients
2023 Emily Bauman
2022 Karen Nielsen-Anson
2021 Matt Schrier
2020 Anne Goldberg
2019 Jocelyn Gukeisen
2018 Lou Ann Stevens
2017 Teresa Totorica
2016 Laura Bradford
2015 Cassi Lanie
2014 Paul Chung
2013 Suky Stewart
2012 Logan Campbell
2011 Susan Morgan
2010 Natalie Enevoldsen
2009 Jayde Prudden
2008 Jan Lundquist
Yellowstone National Park Photo courtesy of Dr. Yang
Joanne McGillis Endowment Fund
Established in 2021 after Joanne McGillis’ passing, the Joanne S. McGillis Endowment Fund represents our original benefactor’s love for the School and her confidence in its future. The Joanne S. McGillis Endowment Fund provides and supports competitive salaries, benefits, professional development, and other related expenses in order to attract and retain the very best teachers, Head of School, and administration the School can afford.
In keeping with the wishes of Joanne McGillis, this endowment fund will remain invested, with the proceeds providing annual support for our teachers.
$7,664,104 Fund balance (as of 6/30/2025)
What is an Endowment?
Gifts to the Endowment are investments in the future of the School.
An endowment is an investment fund set up to last in perpetuity, where the principal remains intact and the generated proceeds are used for a specific purpose.
At McGillis, the Endowment comprises three named funds: the Joanne McGillis Endowment Fund, the Hal J. Pos Memorial Scholarship Fund, and the Robert Norris Excellence in Teaching Endowment Fund.
Endowment growth provides an ongoing source of sustained, long-term funding for McGillis, making it possible for the School to be less reliant on tuition and annual fundraising programs.
Learn more about our Endowment!
YOUR IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITY
Did You Know?
In addition to roosting together each evening, Magpies are known to play and work in teams.
The McGillis kehilah loves a good gathering! And when we gather, whether to play, to solve problems, or to do good and kind deeds, we learn all kinds of things about each other and the world.
Gathering for the good of others is one of the hallmarks of a McGillis education, and is one of the ways in which we live our values. Small groups of Magpies young and old gather to perform acts of service (gemilut hasadim), they huddle up to create art, they march to express their support and care. Your giving supports the students, teachers, curriculum, and resources that allow us to make a difference to others.
TZEDAKAH IN EVERY SEASON
Fall Leaf Haul: Even Better in 2024
For over 30 years, our entire community has spread out into the Douglas Neighborhood to rake leaves for our neighbors. Family Groups stick together for this activity, and we often see 8th graders helping their Kindergartners gather leaves with tiny rakes, filling bags to the brim.
Fall Leaf Haul in 2024 was even better thanks to two values-aligned changes: 1) Our 30-gallon leaf bags were fully compostable; and 2) Family Groups walked their bags to a dumpster at West Campus. The dumpster was then hauled to the Salt Lake Valley Landfill to be turned into compost, which is certified by the U.S. Composting Council!
Values in Action Food Drive
We really wanted to “up” our Food Drive game this year, and our entire school caught the spirit! Thanks to the input of staff at the Jewish Family Service (JFS) Alex & Sally Lebwohl Food Pantry, we made recommendations to students of the most helpful things they could donate beyond canned goods. Peanut butter, cereals, shelf-stable dairy, diapers, and cleaning supplies were just some of the newly suggested items for families to include in their shopping lists.
Lower School tracked donations with a sticker for every item donated in each category, and Middle Schoolers participated in a March Madness-style bracket, moving forward categories with the least amount of items each week to raise awareness of donation needs.
In the end, the McGillis kehilah donated over 1,000 pounds of items to the Lebwohl Food Pantry! This effort was especially appreciated by JFS, who reported a 200% increase in demand for pantry items in the winter months of 2024/2025.
Four Years in a Row of TREEkun Olam
In 2025, TreeUtah gave McGillis a special assignment: be the first group to participate in an important tree re-planting plan for Wheeler Farm in Salt Lake County! This beautiful and popular destination had lost hundreds of trees in recent years due to a combination of environmental and man-made complications, and it needed our help.
Once again, we had perfect sunny weather for the big day. Each of our 39 Family Groups planted a tree, bringing the total number of trees we have planted over four years to 158!
TREEkun Olam is made possible thanks to your giving, with all of the proceeds from our Fall Magpie Market ($18,000 in 2024/2025!) earmarked for this annual day of service. Thanks to all who shopped the Market, and also to everyone who made gifts dedicated to trees!
SMALL ACTS, BIG IMPACT
7th Grade Art + Spanish Project Selected for Gallery Exhibit
For the third year in a row, Art Teacher Jill Saxton and Spanish Teacher Jackson Bellaimey teamed up to combine their subjects with McGillis 7th graders! This project is inspired by Amarte México Colectivo, a group of women in Oaxaca dedicated to using grabados (large-scale woodcut posters) as a tool for social transformation.
In 2024/2025, each of the three sections of 7th Grade Art and Spanish students chose the subjects for their grabados: combating period poverty, unplugging from screens, and fighting for the Great Salt Lake. Their grabado, titled “Help the GSL,” fit right in with the submission guidelines for a multidisciplinary exhibition curated by the Mestizo Institute of Culture and Arts, so Ms. Saxton submitted our students’ work and it was selected for display!
The Vanishing Waters, Rising Voices exhibit ran from May 16-June 21, 2025, giving artists and the public the chance to explore the environmental and social impacts of the Great Salt Lake’s decline. We are proud that our Magpies collaborated to create such a beautiful and thought-provoking work of art!
I think it’s great that this exhibit accepted student work and recognized that rising voices should also include kids and their futures.
View Mestizo Art Gallery’s feature post about our students’ work here →
Jill Saxton, McGillis Art Teacher
MagPride at the Pride Parade
Our kehilah was thrilled to join the annual Utah Pride Parade again this year! Over 100 Magpies, many wearing our new bright-blue “Everyone Belongs” t-shirts and the crowd favorite MagPride socks, waved to the crowd and showered bystanders with bubbles. And for the first time, one of our McGillis buses joined our group for all of the fun!
Our participation in Utah Pride is just one way we outwardly show support for the LGBTQ+ community both within our school and out in the world. We are proud to be a school that is a safe place for every person who walks through our doors, regardless of their age, sexuality, or gender expression.
TLC Shares:
Community Event Made Possible by the TLC Impact Fund
Thanks to the TLC Impact Fund (learn more on p. 16), we held our second annual community education event, TLC Shares, in March of 2025. McGillis parents/guardians, joined by community therapists and educators, came to McGillis to watch a screening of The Disruptors, followed by a Q&A.
The Disruptors is the first comprehensive documentary film about ADHD and follows five households to highlight the realities of raising neurodivergent children. We are proud to host TLC Shares and provide this enriching evening to our McGillis community and beyond. It reminds us of our values, in particular gemilut hasadim—having respect for all—as we strive to learn how to support each other in all of the different ways we learn.
A YEAR OF GROWING TOGETHER
Did You Know?
Magpie nests are a marvel! First, they form a stable cup-shaped structure out of mud. Then, they collect a variety of sticks (and sometimes man-made items - read more on p. 4!) for the outer layer, which arches over the top in the shape of a dome. High up in dense trees, Magpie nests are not only safe from the elements and predators—they are truly works of art!
Growing Together: A Campaign for the Future
of The McGillis School is only the second capital campaign in the School’s history, and the first since 2010. In June 2024, we began meeting quietly with McGillis families and friends to secure support for this ambitious project. By the time we publicly launched the Campaign at our all-school Winter Gathering in December of 2024, we had already secured over $4M towards our $5.2M goal. And less than six months later, on June 9, 2025, we received our final gift that unlocked a $300,000 Emma Eccles Jones foundation grant that propelled us beyond the finish line. We did it!
Thank you!
Thank you for investing in our students, our program, and our future. We could not have done this without you!
Outdoor Environmental Education Classroom
Made possible by a generous gift from The Jack & Sarah Warmath Family Fund
Outdoor Environmental Education Nature Playground
Made possible by a generous gift from the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation
The Learning Center Community Plaza
Made possible by a generous gift from Kelly & Chris Manning
The Amphitheatre
Made possible by a generous gift from The Brodke Family
Anne, Darrel, Dane ’05 & Hannah ’08
Utah Native Plant Garden
Made possible by a generous gift from The Sam & Diane Stewart Family Foundation
Student Art Wall
Made possible by a generous gift from The Henriques Family
The Turf Field
Made possible by a gift from The Byrne Family
Nature Trail
Made possible by a generous gift from The Burbidge & Zimmerman Families
Special thanks to the donors who went above and beyond to underwrite these eight special spaces!
We maximized the power of outdoor teaching, learning, and play.
In just six months, our spaces outside have completely transformed! Construction supervisors, architects, and engineers combined their expertise to turn our outdoor footprint into something infinitely more beautiful—and usable—for McGillis Magpies of all ages and abilities. Additions and improvements include:
a new all-weather turf field
a paved perimeter nature trail, nature-based playground, and Middle School Outdoor Environmental Education (OEE) classroom
a state-of-the-art playground for all ages our first-ever Amphitheater
a Community Plaza that flows seamlessly with the building and other outdoor hardscapes
hundreds of newly planted drought-tolerant grasses, flowering plants, and trees
The new field is great! It’s never muddy and so much fun to play on!
4th Grade
Student
We gave Middle School Integrative Studies students more
room to learn.
Located at 721 South 1200 East, West Campus is only 300 adult steps from Main Campus, and provides the perfect non-traditional space for our non-traditional Middle School Integrative Studies (I.S.) program, which fuses Humanities, Science, and Writing curricula into one innovative learning program.
The Growing Together Campaign made it possible for us to acquire and make improvements to our new building. I.S. students no longer have to complete their work on hallway floors in the Main Building, or hastily stash their three-dimensional projects in corners when class time is up. Now, they now have more space to gather, whether in small groups or as an entire Middle School.
West Campus shines a light on this innovative program, which you’ll find nowhere else in the state of Utah!
“
West Campus is such a cool place for I.S. The new building gives us an opportunity to experience learning in a space created just for Middle School students.
8th
Grade McGillis Student
We created classroom spaces for TLC learners inside our Main Building.
The Learning Center (TLC) at McGillis is the only school-within-a-school for students with language-based learning differences in the state of Utah. After launching this unique program for children with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia in Fall 2020, enrollment grew so quickly that we had to install a modular building in our parking lot to accommodate four TLC classrooms.
Thanks to Growing Together, we have fulfilled our dream of having all students under one roof. With the Middle School I.S. program moving to West Campus, three large Main Building classrooms are now TLC classrooms. Each TLC classroom has the beautiful, tall McGillis windows we all love. We are thrilled that our TLC is literally surrounded by the rest of our learning community!
The
new TLC classrooms are so nice. I love the big windows!
5th Grade TLC Student “
We enhanced the security and safety of our urban campus.
Safety has always been a top priority for McGillis, especially considering its urban location. Today’s world demands we do even more to provide protected spaces for our entire kehilah, and the capital campaign has made these important upgrades possible:
a solid concrete perimeter fence along our western boundary that fully encloses and protects our new outdoor learning and play space
“
I
feel safer outside because of the new fences and walls. And, I think it’s better for our neighbors too.
4th Grade Student
a redesigned drop-off/pick-up loop boasting a more efficient traffic pattern and expanded curbs and sidewalks
additional bike parking on the interior of the property, away from busy 1300 East
gentle slopes from the Main Parking Lot to the Main and North entrances, removing stairs to make both ADA-accessible and to better facilitate food and mail deliveries
Thank You for supporting our students, our teachers, and our community!
Our donor lists have moved!
668
philanthropy@mcgillisschool.org www.mcgillisschool.org Federal Tax ID# 75-3048375
