Sage Hill welcomes middle school students, a move made possible by $55M expansion
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A new academic year at Sage Hill School Monday was celebratory, as students, staff and administrators marked the completion of a new gymnasium and classroom space that allows for the enrollment of middle schoolers.
The 38,658-square-foot expansion includes eight instructional rooms and a cafe for seventh- and eighth-grade students, along with offices and a multi-court gym large enough to seat all students at the private Newport Coast campus.
The Middle School and Bolen Family Gymnasium building took nearly two years to construct and was celebrated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday.
“To our inaugural seventh and eighth grade students: thank you for being pioneers,” Sage Hill’s director of Middle School, Joseph Moody, said at the convocation. “Years from now, other students will walk these halls and participate in traditions that began with you. You are helping write the first pages of a remarkable new chapter in Sage Hill’s history.”
The school’s first batch of middle schoolers comprises as many as 140 students, bringing the school’s total enrollment up to 730. The expansion also adds 11 new faculty members.
Sage Hill’s second gym is capable of hosting numerous sporting matches at once while seating more than 1,000 spectators. It will enhance opportunities to train and compete for young athletes at all grade levels.
The expansion cost an estimated $55 million. A capital campaign launched in 2023 raised about $25 million to help cover construction costs and also increase tuition assistance for lower-income families.
“This moment also would not have been possible without the extraordinary generosity of our donors, whose belief in our mission helped transform this vision into reality,” Head of School Patricia Merz, said Monday.
“We are equally grateful for the unwavering support of our Board of Trustees, our administrative leadership team, our faculty and staff and everyone who has worked so hard to bring us to this day.”
About 1,000 people joined Merz and Sage Hill Board of Trustees Chair Mike Bolen as they used a giant pair of scissors to cut a ceremonial ribbon during Monday’s event. Other speakers included Christian Lu, student council president of the Class of 2027.
Founded in 2000, Sage Hill School is now the only independent school in Orange County serving grades 7 through 12.
