At the end of the ribbon-cutting event, a group of pre-K students, including Aiden Reinhardt, got to ring a kid-height bell in the parking lot of the Gulf Stream School’s new Delray Beach campus. The K-8 campus in Gulf Stream has a similar bell.
By Faran Fagen
One by one, 3-year-olds grasped the rope, tugged, and smiled at the resounding ding of the bell to commemorate progress at the new Gulf Stream School campus in Delray Beach.
On Oct. 7, the bell — small like the pre-K students the campus serves — echoed throughout the Gulf Stream community during a ribbon- cutting ceremony to formally celebrate the opening of the new campus.
“Celebrating that tradition on both campuses is a wonderful and memorable way to connect them,” said Head of School Gray Smith, who delivered the keynote speech at the commemoration.
More than 100 parents, faculty, trustees and members of the parents auxiliary attended the event.
Gulf Stream Head of School Gray Smith addresses the crowd at the dedication of the Delray Beach campus.
Also in the photo are (front row, l-r) Robert Meyer, Jacob Fields, London Wizard and longtime teacher Christina Wheat. Behind them are admissions associate Mary Aperavich and managing director Jessica DeHaven. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
One of Smith’s favorite memories and traditions at the original Gulf Stream campus is when the school’s eighth-graders, or “seniors,” ring the “old railroad bell” at the beginning and the end of the school year. Since the new campus came with a similar bell, the 3-year-olds — the new campus’s “seniors” — rang their bell at the ribbon-cutting.
One of the teachers at the event was Christina Wheat, pre-primary division coordinator, Gulf Stream Class of 1990.
“Gulf Stream School has always been part of my life,” said Wheat, who has taught pre-K, kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 3 in more than 20 years on staff. “As a student, teacher and parent, this is a special place. The people. The students, parents and faculty are truly amazing. “
Due to the increase in school enrollment, the need for the second campus, at 2515 N. Swinton Ave. in Delray Beach, was great.
As far as school traditions carrying over to the new campus, one of Wheat’s favorite weeks at Gulf Stream School is Spirit Week, which ends with a family picnic. Spirit Week starts with students dressing down in their blue and white, followed by a Western day, neon day and pajama day.
For Smith, in his sixth year at Gulf Stream, his favorite memories include field trips to the Everglades and the Grand Canyon, the annual family picnic, and eighth-grade speeches.
From the head of school’s perspective, he’s grateful to lead a school whose board’s vision is advancing its programs.
“Over 87 years, our board has stewarded GSS to a position of great strength, one capable of acquiring a new campus as part of a long-term strategy to make the GSS experience available to a wider number of children and families,” Smith said.
One of the Delray Beach campus’s chief goals is to create significant improvements to the overall educational program and even to daily operations on the main campus. For example, where the school used to mix 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds, now there’s programs tailored to the developmental needs of children at each age level.
“Having only 4-year-olds in our arrival and dismissal lines on the main campus helps the process move quickly, as they are capable of getting out of and into vehicles much more efficiently than 3-year-olds,” Smith said. “Plus, we run a school bus to and from the DBC that transports close to 30 students from the Lake Ida area; this reduces the number of vehicles on town of Gulf Stream roads and on and off our campus.”
The new campus boasts a remodeled classroom building and upgraded grounds, all reflective of the high standards on the main campus.
In keeping with the Gulf Stream School 2024 theme, “More We, Less Me,” which focuses on camaraderie and teamwork, the middle school children will shuttle to the Delray Beach campus each month to create a memorable keepsake item with the younger students.
“As a parent/teacher I have been able to share and witness this,” Wheat said. “Some of my children’s fondest memories in pre-K were of the 21 big kids coming to read to them or play with them on the playground. This small outreach is one of the aspects that instills in our older and younger students how we work at Gulf Stream to be a family school.”
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