The Playground and Shade Projects

Phase Two of the playground was installed just before this year’s Gala! It is ready for playing on right now!!

Check out the pictures below!

We cannot thank the Playground Fund donors enough!!

Your generosity has allowed us to create a space support the development of children's gross motor skills, control, coordination, and strength. In addition, the playground acts as an extension to the classroom for developing social skills and practicing grace and courtesy.

Stay tuned for more information about the unveiling of the plaque to recognize the donors!

Fund the Future 2025: Made in the Shade!

Now we’re turning our sights towards a project that will make our campus an even better place to learn and grow: SHADE

Currently the shade available to children is on the edge of the woods and over the sandbox. The rest of our play areas are wide open to the sun.

It's not just our play spaces that need shade; the outdoor spaces where students eat lunch and enjoy working can be hot and bright.

The Upper Elementary has a beautiful patio but when children want to work outside they often come back in because the glare on their papers and books is blinding. A bit of shade over their patio will mean that children can take full advantage of their outdoor space.

In the Adolescent Program, the students take on big work with big tools and they need big spaces to do that work. To make the most of their outdoor space, they need shade and shelter from the elements.

If the AP patio had a roof, AP students would use it for: lunch on rainy days, quiet individual work, noisy group work, pressing cider, using power tools; painting, sewing, playing guitar, science experiments, and just taking a break in nature.

We are planning a two-step approach to this project: 

Building shade for today 
Planting shade for tomorrow.

The first step will be to build a shed roof over the patio behind the Adolescent Program building, and a pergola over the Upper Elementary classroom patio. The tables inside the courtyard and Lower Elementary fenced-in space will all get umbrellas. 

The plantings will include: 

• Shade trees by the playground, the gaga pit, and the AP building;

• A sturdy tree for climbing at the end of the playground;

• A large shade tree, also good for climbing, in the center of the driveway oval;

• At the bottom of the hill on the main lawn, we will plant a copse with an evergreen, a small tree and some flowering bushes, to create a smaller, sheltered place for children to play games and have meetings.

The total budget for this project is $50,000. To get us started, new Board member Andy Westwood generously offered to match the first $7,500 in pledges made at the Gala.

We hope you’ll join him in helping us make sure our students, both current and future, will have it “Made in the Shade”

You can make a one-time donation, a monthly commitment, or send a check to made out to Hollis Montessori School to the following address:

Hollis Montessori School
9 S Merrimack Rd
Hollis, NH 03049

Thank you so much to our 2025 Community Partners!