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Date: 9/20/2023
WESTFIELD — Students at Franklin Avenue Elementary School are getting a close-up view of their future elementary school as it is built beam by beam and brick by brick, right next door.
The kindergartners and first graders, who are on the side of the building closest to the construction and will spend the most time in the new school, are especially engaged.
“It’s perfect for me and my sister,” said kindergartner Daniel Swider, on his first day of school this year.
“Wonderful! It has so many advantages of learning in a new environment with new technology. Emma is so excited to start kindergarten today,” said Kimberlee Cartwright, a new kindergarten parent.
First grade teacher Wendy Bard said the start of the construction, when workers had to level the ground, was a bit disruptive, but it’s become part of school life.
“Last spring, the construction was initially difficult because of the large trucks and the daily vibrations. It was loud and we could not open the windows. It was distracting to both students and teachers. But after a few weeks, Fontaine Brothers set up two trailers that blocked the activity, and that helped,” Bard said.
“We have used the construction for teachable moments, such as how a big excavator can balance on a pile of dirt,” she added.
New first grade teacher McKenna Mortimer said her students are taking it in stride. She said when they ask about a particular noise from the site, she explains about the different equipment that they could be hearing.
“I notice the vibration, but it doesn’t affect my teaching. The students are engaged in learning, so they don’t notice it much,” Mortimer said.
Principal Chris Tolpa commented on the rapid progress of the building, which is anticipated to open in December 2024.
“Since July 1, every day two loads of steel have come in, and every day two loads of steel have gone up,” she said.
Tolpa said the students at Franklin Avenue and Abner Gibbs elementary schools, who will move into the new school, are going to be signing their names on one of the beams to be included in the frame.
Tolpa, who also serves on the School Building Committee, said although the structure seems to be going up quickly, work on the interior will take a long time, with wiring, heating and piping to be installed.
At a building committee meeting on Sept. 12, Dan Pallotta, owner’s project manager from P3 Project Planning Professionals, said the project is going extremely well for a public construction project.
He said the underground plumbing and electric are already in, and workers will be done with the concrete work at the end of the third week of September. In the kitchen area, where they are getting ready to lay concrete, the piping is all installed.
Next, they will work on the flat roof portion, where they have been installing duct work on the north end and roof drains. The front facade of the school will have slanted roofs.
The committee also voted in favor of the interior color palette for the school that had been selected by a subcommittee, with a lot of natural wood browns, blues and greens, and some maroon or plum accents. The floor in the public entrance area will have a river motif that runs throughout the building, with dark green lattice work around the stage in the gymnasium meant to reflect the Great Bridges in Westfield.
A unique color has been chosen for each of the pre-K through grade 4 “neighborhoods,” and panels throughout the school will have complementing accent colors.
Pallotta said actual color boards with real samples are available for public view at Purchasing Director Tammy Tefft’s office in City Hall, Room 101. City Hall is at 59 Court St., Westfield.