Press Release

Release Date: May 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Susie Pickering

Oak Lane Day School

137 Stenton Ave, Blue Bell, PA 19422

Phone: 610-825-1055

Fax: 610-825-9288

Email: spickering@oaklanedayschool.org

Oak Lane Day School Receives "Champions for the Environment" Grant From Merck & Co

Oak Lane Day School is serious about maintaining the health of its natural environment. Efforts to do so that involve the students are made throughout the year, such as a massive clean-up of natural debris and the assessment of trees for signs of sickness, which highlighted the school's celebration of Earth Day. For the past few years, the School has been involved with the ambitious and very gratifying project of removing foreign, invasive plants and replacing them with native species. Recently, the community had help when it received a "Champions for the Environment" Grant from Merck & Co., which provided over $7,000 as well as a full-day's work from a dozen Merck employee volunteers.

Merck employee and Oak Lane parent Tracy Mills worked closely with Oak Lane science teacher Dottie Baumgarten and Director of Development Janet Easlea to write the proposal for the grant. The benefits of undertaking such a project to the grounds of the school are readily apparent in the healthiness and beauty of the campus. For the Merck corporation, the work brings rewards that are perhaps less tangible but certainly just as valuable. "Merck has a strong commitment to community service, but what makes this project special is that it is a wonderful community building opportunity for us," reported Ms. Mills. "People who generally see each other only in the office environment now have a means by which they can become acquainted on a different level and in a different way." The Oak Lane community certainly concured with this attitude as faculty, staff, and students all lent a hand throughout the day.

The campus of Oak Lane Day School, located just outside of the Chestnut Hill area, is comprised of thirty beautiful acres that are the pride and joy of the community. There is cultivated lawn for playing fields, but the majority of the land is left to its natural state that consists of meadow, woods, and wetland. Much use is made of the acreage: certainly through the school's science curriculum as well as through beloved traditions from the Woodland Walk, which happens in the fall to frog-catching, one of the all-time favorite activities of the summer camp program. The land is deeply connected to the spirit of the school. Working to keep it healthy is not only necessary to the environment at large but to the health and well-being of the institution.

Oak Lane Day School Information

An independent elementary school, founded in 1916 and located in Blue Bell, Oak Lane Day School serves a diverse population of boys and girls. Oak Lane honors each child's unique individuality while fostering intellectual, creative, academic, and personal growth within a diverse community of active, engaged learners. Small class sizes and an atmosphere that encourages children to develop their academic and social skills are priorities at Oak Lane, where learning is a meaningful and joyous pursuit. Oak Lane's country-like property of 30 acres along Butler Pike and Stenton Avenue boasts a stream, pond, woods, meadows, and specimen trees as well as athletic fields and playgrounds.

Oak Lane Day School is accredited by the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS), and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS).