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Carole Mikita Reporting...Faculty, students, parents and friends of Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School gathered to dedicate the chapel on the school's new campus on Guardsman Way.
Rowland Hall-St. Mark's new lower school campus has 470 students. It is an independent private school honoring historic ties to its founder the Episcopal Church.
Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish is here to dedicate and consecrate St. Margaret's Chapel -- a place the students go to learn about many faiths.
St. Margaret's Chapel serves as a place of peace and spiritual reflection in the middle of a busy school day. Stained glass windows, gifts from Rowland Hall classes, were brought from the old Avenues campus.
Also from the past, the organ, built in 1912, and newly restored. It will fill the room with sound in the place where the students gather to sing.
George Henry/U.S. History teacher & Organist: "HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR THEM TO HAVE THAT SENSE OF PERFORMANCE AND THAT MUSIC IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR..."
The children, pre-school through fifth grade, enjoy this private place, and what they learn here:
Jay Patel/ Rowland Hall fifth grader: "IT'S REALLY PEACEFUL... AND QUIET, SO THAT'S NICE."
Hannah Grumwald/Rowland Hall fifth grader: "EVERY WEEK, IN CHAPEL, WE HEAR A STORY ABOUT A DIFFERENT HOLIDAY AND IT'S ALL DIFFERENT RELIGIONS, WE LEARN A LOT EACH WEEK."
Every place on their new campus is bigger and better -- from individual classrooms to the music room.
And the new school is filled with art, from the students and artist Bonnie Phillips who restored historic pieces and added to them from her own collection.
Assistant to Head of School: "IT REALLY IS LIKE AN ART GALLERY. AND IT'S WORTH A WALK THROUGH THE CAMPUS, IF ONLY TO SEE THE ART..."
The first graduating class of fifth graders will hold their ceremony and be sent forth, from their new chapel.
Mari Novak/ Rowland Hall fifth grader: "I'M JUST EXCITED, 'CAUSE THERE'S GOING TO BE SO MANY THINGS THAT WE GET TO DO.”
Bennett Wheatley/ Rowland Hall fifth grader: "GRADUATION MAKES ME FEEL REALLY HAPPY BECAUSE YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED ALL THOSE GRADES. JUST MAKES ME FEEL REALLY GOOD."
The chapel is also used for school holiday programs as well as community weddings. Not long after it was completed, one of the teachers was married here -- a very exciting event for the students.
