Renovation Archives

Get ready to ford a stream, climb into a fort, balance, spin, bounce, and zip! The big kid playground at Murch is wild! Designed to give our students a sense of place along The Fort Circle Park National Recreation Trail above our neighborhood's Broad Branch stream valley, this adventurous playground takes our play space to new heights - literally! The equipment features a double decker fort, three different slide experiences, challenging and undulating climbers, spider web hide-aways, a four-person bouncing see saw, a "boogie board" balance hammock, a tight rope with overhead zip line handle, a rock wall and boulders, monkey bars, and a double-decker-inside-outside Global Spinner! With exciting elements for every ability level, this playground will quickly extinguish all memory of dusty mulch! Thanks to our wonderful parent community, the HSA was able to make a donation for awesome upgrades to the design. Thank you to our team at DCPS, DGS, and the playground designers for capturing the sense of Murch and the dreams of our students, and to SIT members Linda Komes and Sally Gresham for their invaluable expertise in helping the SIT evaluate the equipment options. … [Read More...]

We know everyone is eager to stay up to date about the progress of the Murch renovation.  Click here to see the biweekly update from D.C. Public Schools.  Also, click here to see the latest update presented to the School Improvement Team (SIT), which includes samples of the furniture, fixtures and equipment that will be in the new building. … [Read More...]

  One year to go! As Murch students prepare to start their second and final year in their home away from home at Murch@UDC, construction back on 36th street continues on schedule for a July 2018 completion. Concrete foundations are curing and more than two-thirds of the steel framing for the new wing is up. Inside the historic building, new walls, windows, plumbing and electric are being installed. Watch this site for regular updates from DCPS. … [Read More...]

As we finish our first year of Murch@UDC, it is a good time to check in on construction of the renovated and expanded Murch@36th Street. Excavation and remediation are complete. The project has all permits necessary and has cleared all major administrative reviews. The construction site is busy with cranes helping to erect steel supports for the new addition to the school. Behind the brick walls of the original school building, classroom walls are starting to go up. Most importantly, construction continues on schedule for completion next summer! DCPS has given the contractors a July 2018 deadline to allow time for staff to move in over the summer and families to see the renovated space prior to the start of the 2018-2019 school year. You can see more construction photos and a copy of the latest update from DCPS to the Murch School Improvement Team here. The Murch community is grateful to the project managers at DCPS and DGS, the construction team at MCN Build, and the architects both R. McGhee & Associates and Hord Coplan Macht for their continuing hard work this year to see that the renovation and expansion project remains on-track and meets the needs of the students and staff of Murch for the future. … [Read More...]

Or just want to watch it over and over again?  Thanks to the amazing efforts of Tanya and Judd Fischer as well as the cooperation of our always willing teachers, staff and students - we once again have a video to express what is so wonderful about Murch. Plus, you can get a tour from Mr. C of what's going on at the "old" Murch and see the construction up close and personal. So, take a minute...or six and enjoy.  Watch it here! … [Read More...]

Check out the latest on the Murch renovation, posted on the DCPS Modernizations web page. DCPS posted two updates this month, as well as the presentation given to the School Improvement Team (SIT) in December. For the first time, you can see a rendering of the proposed building interiors and layouts to get a sense of what the new Murch will look like inside. You may have noticed that the trailers on the 36th street side are finally gone. The project has received the Building Civil (BCIV) approval and there have been some machine deliveries in advance of excavation, which is expected to start in the next two weeks. Work also will begin soon on the temporary, construction curb cut on Ellicott Street, as the old Davenport entrance has already been torn up. With the building underway, design of the grounds is progressing. The project team met with the Murch Student Council on January 17th to get their input on playground equipment. It's great that the team is involving the Murch kids in this process! Finally, click here for the latest drawings, which will be presented to the Public Space Committee in February. Stay tuned for more updates! If you have any questions questions or comments, reach out to Lisa Burke, SIT Chair. … [Read More...]

Many community members have noticed increased activity at the Murch @ 36th Street site. From the outside you can only see small developments, such as the construction offices set up in the Kaufman Wing and the removal of the basketball and soccer goals. But on the inside, demolition and abatement work has begun! Below is just a sample of what is happening inside as work gets underway. If you haven't already, please take some time to check out the exciting plans for the new Murch and other updates on the modernization and expansion of Murch! You can see the latest updates here.   Photo courtesy of DCPS.     … [Read More...]