Schools set to open
Published on August 13th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - With the Stoneham School Department assuming ownership of the two buildings this past Wednesday, the new Colonial Park and Robin Hood Elementary Schools will open on time for the 2004 school year.
“We got substantial completion last week so that means we took over. As of August 11, teachers are allowed to come in and unpack their boxes...Our senses are the classrooms will be all set up by the first day of school,” explained Stoneham School Superintendent Dr. Joseph Connelly.
Although the two buildings will be open on September 4, the first day students will attend school, dedication ceremonies won’t be held until this October. The Robin Hood’s dedication ceremony will take place on October 4 at 9:00 am, while the Colonial Park dedication will occur on October 18 at 9:00 am.
According to Connelly, absent some minor tasks, such as moving furniture into the buildings and completing some small construction projects, the two schools are ready to be occupied.
“The construction phase for Robin Hood and Colonial Park went smoothly. We have some very, very minor issues to work out. We’ve been very fortunate with these two schools. Both were completed in time and within budget,” said Connelly of the 15 month construction phase.
Strolling through the brightly yellow, green and blue tiled corridors of Colonial Park, Connelly bragged about some of the features of the 48,000 square foot building. With 13 classrooms, twice as many as the original Colonial Park, the school contains many cathedral style ceilings, some including several window panes to draw in natural sunlight.
The new Colonial Park building will also include separate art and music rooms, a science lab, three 12,000 square foot kindergarten classrooms with separate bathrooms, a 28-station computer lab, and several cozy “one-on-one” reading specialist and special education classrooms.
With the Stoneham after-school childcare program being extended to the Town’s four elementary schools, Connelly also boasted about the layout of the building, claiming the close proximity of the gymnasium, cafetorium, media center, and administrative offices creates a great community center.
“People will walk in the front door on weekends and everything will be right here in the lobby. A unique feature of both schools is that the cafetorium and the gyms are right next to each other,” remarked Connelly, referring to removable walls between the two rooms that can be shifted to create additional space for special functions.
Yet another unique feature of the school, Connelly showed off a gazebo style reading room that overlooks the property’s grasscovered courtyard. With two carpet covered stairs running along the fringes of the reading room, two rows of students can fit into the space for story readings by teachers or librarians.
With Colonial Park being the smallest of the Town’s four new schools, Robin Hood’s 55,000 square foot Elementary School will contain 23 total rooms, 17 of them classrooms.
According to Connelly, while the Robin Hood School has recently been plagued by several vandalism incidents, none of the damages have significantly set back construction efforts or costs.
However, the superintendent did appeal to neighbors at each of the four schools to assist school officials in limiting future episodes.
“The Robin Hood school has experienced some vandalism. It hasn’t been serious enough to affect the opening or the construction schedule, but we’re concerned. We encourage neighbors to be vigilant in watching the schools. It would be very much appreciated,” commented Connelly.
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