East Longmeadow high schoolers are just a few days away from the first school year in the brand new school.
Photo credit: ELCAT01028
EAST LONGMEADOW — East Longmeadow students return to the classrooms on Sept. 2, but the school year will look a bit different for high schoolers as the first set of students in the new East Longmeadow High School.
Former School Committee member and School Building Committee member Greg Thompson showcased the school’s features at the School Committee meeting on Aug. 20.
Thompson said the school looks fantastic and said it’s been a lot of work for the School Building Committee to get close to opening the building.
He also acknowledged the Pool Building Committee and said it produced a fantastic structure that the community will get a lot of use out of. The pool facility is titled the “Redstone Quarry Natatorium” to honor the town’s historical heritage of local stone quarries and will open alongside the school.
Thompson, Superintendent Joanne Menard, East Longmeadow Recreation and high school staff are beginning conversations to establish daytime community pool hours.
“I also want to recognize our builder, Fontaine Brothers, Skanska, our owner project manager, and Jones Whitsett, our architects,” Thompson said. “All fantastic in the work that they’ve done for the town. We picked the right people to work with and it’s been quite an honor to work alongside them.”
The project has come in on budget and Thompson gave credit to the construction team. He said the team is looking at other opportunities to finish the project, such as art display walls to expand the high school’s art program.
“We are planning on a new carpet for the turf a year from now,” Thompson said. “We’re still pricing that out, but there are funds available and it’s a drastic need that we will have to fund eventually, probably around $1 million. We are looking to do that. That would be next summer if we’re able to do it.”
There are still discussions for an auxiliary building by the stadium, such as a butler building or a large pre-built shed, to offload a few storage containers and store sports equipment.
Sidewalk snow removal is still up in the air, which the custodial team covered at the old high school.
Thompson said the sidewalks are now “six times” in length and will have to coordinate with DPW and school staff on who will do it and the equipment it will need. Menard said a meeting with DPW is already planned.
“Fontaine believes they will be done this time next year with the entire project,” Thompson said. “To the right side, is a lot of work to do still with the softball and baseball fields. Those are not in yet and they will not be there this year. On the back side of the field, we do have three existing fields that were put in. So we’ll have three grass fields to start.”
The fields will be used for soccer, field hockey and lacrosse and should be ready for the fall, pending core testing by Fontaine Bros. There is a smaller practice field directly next to the three grass fields.
He added the tennis courts are always in use and that outdoor basketball courts have been installed adjacent to the football field. He noted the potential for court lighting due to extra funding.
There are individual bathrooms on the second floor and the traditional “airport style” bathrooms on the first floor.
Thompson said the auditorium is one of the “most beautiful auditoriums I have ever seen,” and it should be used as much as possible.
“I know the acoustics will be fantastic,” Thompson said. “They’re getting trained on the lighting, so this is going to be a magnificent space for the school and for the community … It’s a nice space, intimate. The light, it’s got natural light. It’s going to be great for activities.”
Photovoltaic panels on the roof should cover about a third of the school’s electricity cost. The building is 100% electric, besides the pool heating.
“The committee felt it was a responsible investment to put back to the grid, show the kids that we’re making an effort to make clean energy,” Thompson said. “We have a full photovoltaic array on the school, however, we’ve been warned that it may take a year before they’re allowed to come online. That’s based on the utility companies getting things together.”
He said the year-long wait can be a good opportunity to see a difference between the electrical costs before and after the panels come online.
The school’s back side features a seating area outside of the cafeteria with a 7-foot overhang, allowing students to eat outside even in inclement weather. A new greenhouse sits next to the area with additional classroom space for outdoor work opportunities.
“It’s a beautiful space out there,” Thompson said. “It’s really tucked in against the woods. You can hear the birds chirping. It’s going to be a great, great place.”
Menard said she loves how the building features many collaborative areas and the teachers are able to use it in a “21st century” way.
There is a ribbon cutting planned for Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. Residents will have a chance to see inside the new building at an open house on Oct. 17 from 2-4 p.m.
