Completion Expected In 18 Months –

Work Begins On 5/6 School Project

By Tanjua Damon

Even though the 20-acre site of the 5/6 school is now just open space, that will soon change with the official start of construction on the new school slated to open in January 2003.

Key players who helped bring this project to fruition arrived at the site July 10 during a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony.

Haynes Construction has begun clearing the 20-acre lot for the 162,783-square-foot school that will house 1,100 students. Construction is expected to take 18 months. School officials have scheduled a January 2003 occupancy date as long as construction goes as planned.

Dr Reed is pleased with the results of the hard work from various avenues including the Board of Education, Building and Site Commission, Legislative Council, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, architects from Jester Cook & Jepson, project managers Strategic Building Solutions, as well as the work the contractor Haynes Construction will be doing over the next year and a half.

“We want to thank everyone for being here today. It’s just a brief attempt to bring the entities together for working together,” Dr Reed said. “We’re just all very happy.”

He thanked the Building and Site Commission for their hard work and the cooperation of the Legislative Council to make the project possible.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal was unable to attend the ceremony because of a prior commitment in New Haven and because of delayed communication about the ceremony by the school district, which Dr Reed apologized for during the ceremony. Mr Rosenthal is glad to see the project underway.

“I certainly wish the Board of Education and school administration good luck in the construction of the new school,” Mr Rosenthal said later. “We all expect this project to go smoothly. I will help in any way I can so it does.”

Architect Jim LaPosta from Jeter Cook & Jepson spoke of the work that was done on planning the project and said that Newtown was a good town to work with.

“We’re delighted to be here. It’s been a real pleasure to work in Newtown,” Mr LaPosta said. “This is a great day, a great site. We look forward to being here in 18 months.”

Haynes Construction contractor Paul Haynes said, “I too am excited and proud to be here. We’re proud to be a part of Newtown’s commitment to education. We look forward to a successful project.”

Dr Reed thanked the entire Newtown community for coming together to see that the 5/6 school became a reality for the students as well as the town.

The 5/6 school project is expected to cost $28.6 million to build. If all goes well during the construction phase, the school is expected to open in January 2003. The building on Wasserman Way will include 44 classrooms arranged in two-room clusters. Each cluster will have a shared small group instruction room along with a moveable partition. The triangular style design divides the school into two areas.

The school will have a library/media center, special education classroom and resource room, three art rooms, three music rooms, full-sized gymnasium, a cafetorium with a stage, administrative offices, maintenance, mechanical, and storage rooms. An elevator will also be available at the school.

The project is designed to have separate unloading areas for school buses and automobiles. There will be parking for visitors and staff. The school will also have softball/baseball fields, a multi-purpose field, and an outdoor hard-surfaced play area.