Play is Where the Magic Happens

GCDS children joyfully rushed the newly opened Andrew Niblock playground, climbing, swinging, spinning, and sliding down the new structures. Hundreds of students, families and faculty members gathered on November 14 to dedicate the playground in honor of the beloved former Head of the Lower School who passed away in December 2024 after bravely living with ALS.

Head of School Adam Rohdie, Andrew’s wife, Eliza Niblock, and Board President Emily Stern spoke at the ceremony, celebrating both the man and the educational philosophy that shaped his career.

“Andrew understood something that not everybody does,” Rohdie told the assembled crowd. “That community isn’t built only in the classrooms or the meeting rooms, but more significantly in the shared moments when people simply gather, look around and feel connected.

And he would have especially loved a playground opening because few people understood the importance of play as deeply as Andrew did.”

“He saw play not as a break from learning, but the beating heart of it,” Rohdie said. “He understood that when children climb and jump and balance and run, they’re not just strengthening their bodies, they’re strengthening their minds, their confidence, their resilience, and their character.”

Eliza Niblock thanked the GCDS com community for the tribute, noting that the playground “encompassed everything he loved about learning—a place where imaginations flourish, friendships formed, teamwork first starts to take root.”

She recalled how Andrew would respond when parents lamented their children coming home with dirt-stained clothes from the playground. “Andrew would literally grin ear to ear and just say,

‘Evidence of learning.’” Niblock’s sons, McCrory and Townsend, unveiled the playground sign bearing their father’s name and a quote from Niblock’s own book: “Play is where the magic happens.”

Addressing Developmental Needs

The new playground serves the needs of 3- to 12-year olds, more than 500 children, with structures designed to meet current safety standards and developmental research.

According to Trudy Davis, former LES Head, who led the design committee, playgrounds are crucial for developing gross motor skills essential for physical development, coordination, and balance—skills that directly impact academic success by supporting hand-eye coordination, attention, concentration, and memory. The playground includes structures specifically designed for different age groups, creative play areas, and equipment that supports vestibular development.

“Studies have shown that students who are active have higher brain activity,” Davis said. “We have a rigorous academic program and expect a lot from our GCDS students. Our students need to play, run, and burn off energy by being physically active on the playground.”

“For the next century in GCDS history and surely even longer, the Andrew Niblock Playground will be the place where that magic unfolds every single day,” Rohdie said. “Generations of children will laugh here, collaborate here, challenge themselves here, make friends here, fall down and get back up here. And in every one of those moments, a little piece of Andrew will be present.”

#gcdsles