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Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:18:03 -0500
From: bkmunnelly@optonline.net
Subject: RE: Plan to keep Ham Ave K-5 out of the new building until April
To: lauradibella@msn.com ; ddand51@aol.com ; tclerk@greenwichct.org ; ltbavis@yahoo.com ; jbudkins@yahoo.com ; conmagtc@yahoo.com ; jcliff@optonline.net ; semrogers@earthlink.net; nsech@aol.com ; vonkey@gmail.com ; vad5573@aol.com
CC: betty_sternberg@greenwich.k12.ct.us ; damaris_rau@greenwich.k12.ct.us ; peter.tesei@greenwichct.org ; acap528@optonline.net ; amandawilson@optonline.net ; rtb1300@aol.com ; daniel98mom@aol.com ; deborah_cline@greenwich.k12.ct.us ; joanna_michael@hotmail.com ; kborsuk@greenwich-post.com ; lindafazzc@optonline.net ; clchorch@optonline.net ; mmpmjam@aol.com ; furano11@verizon.net ; ryan3pej@aol.com ; tandersenc@aol.com ; jcohen@ticc.com ; michaelbodson@yahoo.com ; lesliemori@aol.com ; nvoye@aol.com ; mpclake@optonline.net ; sellis6@optimum.net ; andersonsb@optonline.net ; nqueen124@aol.com, greenwichroundup@gmail.com
It's a shame, we finally get what we waited forever for and we still have to fight!!! We (the parents) believed the TCO would be a time for celebration, little did we know……
I don't know ONE parent that believes the CMT is more important than our children, or that a move into a building, dangled in front of us like a carrot for soooo long needs a five week transition, or will effect the ability of our "RESILENTENT" children to successfully complete the CMTs. If the building was ready on the first day of school in Aug. like we were lead to believe, would we have stayed in the modulars for 5 extra weeks, for a ridiculous transition plan? This community has been lied to and ripped apart for too long. All we want is our children in the building that was promised to them years ago.
We will stand together, and let our voices be heard.
FLASHBACK:
Parents Upset at School Renovation Delays - NYTimes.com
Sep 7, 2008
AFTER 3 years of delays, the students of Hamilton Avenue Elementary will finally get to move into their newly renovated school this fall — but that may not happen until the end of October.
A planned $24 million renovation of the school has taken longer than anticipated — an Aug. 15 completion date came and went — and it is also about $6 million over budget.
Students began the school year on Aug. 27 along with others in Greenwich, but they reported to modular classrooms that have been set up at Western Middle School while their school is under construction. School officials had hoped that the Hamilton Avenue School would be granted a temporary certificate of occupancy last week that would have allowed them to move students and teachers into permanent quarters by Columbus Day weekend, but town inspectors turned them down.
Frank Mazza, a volunteer who heads the town Building Committee, which oversees renovations of school facilities under state law, said they didn’t receive the temporary certificate because they are still waiting on an air quality report. There are also a variety of other small unfinished items including, for example, Braille characters on important signs in the building. Mr. Mazza said the electrical inspector also found some electric outlets that were not working on Tuesday.
The many delays in the school’s renovation, which began after mold was discovered in the building in 2003 ...
.....In March, mold was also found in the modular classrooms the Hamilton Avenue students were using at Western Middle School. The students were sent home for an entire week, missing classes. Afterward, they were dispersed to other elementary schools in town where they finished the school year.
Parents were so upset they demonstrated at the Board of Education building in downtown Greenwich to voice their frustrations, and board members told them at an emergency meeting they were doing their best to minimize the disruption to their children.These latest delays have them even more upset. Mina Bibeault, a mother of two Hamilton Avenue students, said the Building Committee and the Board of Education have lost all their credibility with her and other parents ...... BLAH .... BLAH ...... BLAH ..... BLAH ...... BLAH ...... BLAH ..... BLAH ..... BLAH ...... BLAH ...... BLAH .....
Laura J. DiBellaAgain, our children our sacrificed for the sake of a test. Now the school is ready and we have a very convenient 5 week plan until we can move. This ensures "no disruption of the CMT's.". Well, thank God for that! Our children can stay in the crowded, leaking, soon to be mold filled again modulars.
Tell me, district wide, do you bring the children in before school starts to show them the lunchroom, assign them their lunchtime seat, and do a test fire drill? Do we show them the art and music room? These are all things that can be done in a single morning. Didn't our teachers' union vote that they WANT to move as soon as possible, meaning Feb. break? If there are "conditions" to the TCO, why risk our littlest students? Bottom line , this is the only truth in the press release about why we are not moving ."Additionally, this schedule avoids disruption to the preparation for and administration of the March CMT testing schedule."
Funny, before any 5 week plan was developed , we were constantly told that a move in Feb was not possible because it would disrupt the CMT's and result in (dare I say it), lower test scores.
Enough! We keep hearing that our children are resilient , let them prove it now.
Move us over Feb. break. We have two full weeks now, we relocated to 6 locations in a week, this should be a piece of cake.
Philip and Kerry Dunn
Patricia Reilly
PLEASE SEE:
from: rtb1300@aol.com
COLIN DON"T PANIC HEARST NEWSPAPER FAX MACHINES GET JAMMED ALL THE TIME
Greenwich Time Debra "I Am A Big Fat Liar" Friedman Can't Stop Greenwich Roundup From Posting This .....
