by Tiffany Razzano
The first school on the agenda was South Side High School, where the major renovations completed this summer were to the science department offices, said Principal Dr. Carol Burris. There is now more room for the science teachers. "The student population has gone up; the amount of teachers has gone up," Burris said, "but until now the offices have stayed the same."
The teachers' lounge has also been renovated, and now has more space and a more cheerful look. The school is also planning to fix up the girls' bathroom on the second floor, replacing the bathroom stall doors and old hand dryers.
South Side Middle School welcomes new Assistant Principal Kevin Bonanno, who came to Rockville Centre from the Syosset School District. The middle school also underwent renovations over the summer, including the construction of a new stage in the auditorium. The biggest undertaking in the building, however, was a brand new heating and ventilation system. In addition, old ceiling tiles were fixed and there was extensive cleaning.
Johnson called the work at the building a "work in progress" the week before school began. "We did a tremendous amount of work over the summer," he said. "Our goal was to work from the classrooms out. There's still cleaning in the hallways to be done, and some units for the heating and ventilation system have not been installed yet."
All of the elementary schools saw renovations over the summer, in preparation for the inaugural year of the district's new elementary school lunch program. The food will be prepared at the middle school and then brought to the elementary schools for lunch, where it will be stored in new food warmers. The schools also had to designate space for food preparation and install kitchen sinks that conform to the health code.
Wilson Elementary School underwent only minor renovations this summer, including the reworking of the front and back stoops so that there are four steps rather than three, and the addition of brighter lights in some of the classrooms.
Many of the seats in the auditorium at Covert Elementary School were replaced because the auditorium is in use every day, and the seating was very worn said Principal Darren Raymar. The school also enclosed some outdoor piping in order to make it safer and more attractive.
Watson Elementary School, which is also in great shape and brightly decorated for incoming students, also had only minimal renovations this summer, as did Riverside Elementary School. However, since Riverside had to make room for all the new kitchen equipment, school officials are finding that they have a lack of storage space for many large items, including the portable bleachers, which are now in the hallway.
Hewitt Elementary School saw the most amount of work this summer, as the third-floor attic was converted into classroom and office space. New Principal Elizabeth Pryke said this project would be a work in progress throughout the fall. The school is also building an elevator.
The third-floor space will consist of a fifth-grade classroom, a music room, an office for a physical/occupational therapist, faculty bathrooms, an art room, a guided reading room and a special-education office. "We wanted the new space to be used for the children as much as possible," Pryke said.
