High School Move-In

Date On Hold

Newtown High School Principal Charles Dumais announced Monday morning that the move-in date for the expansion portion of the high school’s renovation and expansion project is being postponed by roughly one to two weeks.

The move-in date was originally announced as December 1, but, as Mr Dumais posted on his blog on November 22: “In order to ensure that the space is ready to deliver educational programs (and lunch), we will be waiting for word from [The Morganti Group], the architect, and the town representative that the space is ready (inspections complete, TCO in hand, kitchen readied by Chartwells, only punch list items to address, etc.)”

While the expansion is still set for completion, Mr Dumais said move-in is being held off to allow time to prepare the new kitchen, network connections, and time for staff and students to “acclimate to the new space.”

The gymnasium is still set to be ready for November 29, “Just in time for most of our winter teams.”

Before announcing the decision on Monday, Mr Dumais had told the Board of Education at its meeting on Tuesday, November 16, that complications in the Chartwells prep kitchen could postpone moving into the new portion of the high school. He also said use of the kitchen was needed in order to start using the full expansion, because students could not attend courses so far from the school’s existing cafeteria. 

As Mr Dumais has also said in the past, moving into the new space requires altering the school’s schedule from four to three lunch waves, and will need time for the move itself.

“Once again, we sincerely thank you for your overwhelming patience and cooperation during this inconvenient and disruptive transition in the life of Newtown High School,” Mr Dumais wrote.