Stanwich's Wildwood Cottage Opens

“We have completely redesigned this space. It’s amazing for innovative early learning. Wildwood Cottage has everything from farm-to-table cooking that will be happening here from the school garden, (to) a partnership with Animal Embassy,” Meaghan Mallin, Stanwich’s Associate Head of School and Head of Lower School, said during an interview with local news agency It’s Relevant.

On Friday, September 5, students, parents, trustees, teachers and local media gathered for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of Wildwood Cottage, The Stanwich School’s PreK and Kindergarten. “We have had this vision from the beginning — that we were going to be the first coeducational PreK through Grade 12 school in Greenwich. That dream is coming true right now. It’s been wonderful and significant to have everybody on one campus, and bring the whole community together,” said Mrs. Mallin.

Continuing to speak about the school’s partnership with Animal Embassy, Mrs. Mallin said, “We have tanks with all different kinds of animals that live here from snakes, to turtles, to chinchillas. Animal Embassy will be coming in on a bi-weekly basis and actually teaching the kids about the animals, and letting them touch them. They also will be taking the kids back into our woods. We now own these 40 acres and there are amazing nature trails. They will be taking them back there to teach them about the local ecology. There’s a great vernal pond (where) they’ll be going and collecting specimens to learn about, so it’s a real, full, immersive learning program.”

Wildwood Cottage students will not only learn about animals and cooking, their horizons are broadened through introductory French and Spanish, art history, and international studies, among core curricular offerings. Children learn the fun of public speaking, with many presentation opportunities. There are also regular “Buddy” activities with older Upper and Lower School students, involving interesting projects.

“The really exciting thing for us is that all of these new initiatives in Wildwood Cottage are happening under the umbrella of our excellence in academics, which is really what Stanwich is about. Every child is different, so we want to make sure we are bringing out the best in each child. That’s where our teacher connection comes in, our small student-teacher ratio comes in, so we can really take each child to where they can get to, and reach their best potential. At the end of the day, we want to make sure we are providing the absolute richest and best academic experience for our kids,” said Mrs. Mallin.

“It’s a really wonderful time for this school. It’s a really exciting time. This has been a great kickoff to the school year and we are really excited about all the new things to come,” said Mrs. Mallin.

The Stanwich School’s Wildwood Cottage welcomes boys and girls beginning at age 3-and-a-half. For more information, call 203-542-0035 or visit www.stanwichschool.org.