Page 4 • Wednesday , August 4 , 2021 • The Hammonton Gazette
Schools being readied for upcoming year
SCHOOL , from Page 1 Robin Chieco concurred , noting that several summer programs — running Monday through Thursday through August 5 — are currently being offered .
“ These programs include Extended School Year for our special education students , Achievement Academy for grades 1-5 , Summer Impact for grades 6-9 and Credit Recovery for Algebra 1 , Geometry , English 1 , 2 and 3 at the high school . All of the programs are providing additional support for students that may have struggled during the school year . Summer music programs are also being offered . High school athletic programs are participating in summer conditioning to prepare for the fall season ,” Chieco said .
Besides educational work , Chieco said that administrative work is continuing apace .
“ The administrators and supervisors are interviewing candidates to fill open positions within the district . In addition , we are developing schedules and procedures for the upcoming school year . Specifics for parent informational letters are being coordinated by building principals to thoroughly explain expectations and timelines for the beginning of the year . Additionally , board committees are meeting with our administrative team to review safety protocols , budgetary concerns , new staff and traffic patterns . Professional development is being planned for staff to be completed from August 26 to 31 , prior to students returning . Federal grants are being submitted and supplies are being ordered for the upcoming school year ,” Chieco said .
In addition to the solar project that is progressing at Hammonton High School and the Early Childhood Education Center ( ECEC ),
Courtesy Photos
Above : Cindy DeMarco , Carmen Gonzalez and David Fedga hand-scrape the floors in the high school . Right : Matthew Fasciglione , Evelyn Negron , David Negron and Ales Georglianious wipe the walls at Hammonton Middle School . Chieco said that the “ buildings and facilities are being repaired , cleaned and reconfigured to accommodate the return of all students and staff .”
Mento said that such work is the responsibility of two crews within the district .
“ One is our maintenance crew , who take advantage of this opportunity without students to remove all the furniture out of the classrooms and strip , wax and seal all the VCT [ vinyl composition tile ] floors along with the hallways ,” Mento said .
Sharon Murray , the district ’ s director of facilities , described the process .
“ You ’ ve got to put down the stripper , let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes , use a hand-scraper — there ’ s no machine ; it ’ s our custodians — and then you apply it again , let it sit for 20 to 25 minutes — depending on how bad it is to get up — start scraping for the second time , then you do a water solution to make sure everything is off . Then , you apply between three and five
coats of wax . We ’ re a 200,000 square-foot building at the high school , and it ’ s been a little bit of time . This is being done at every building ... one classroom , just the stripping alone , it ’ s insane how much time it does take ,” Murray said .
Murray said that July and August represent the busiest time of year for her crew of 35 maintenance and custodial staff , spread among the four schools .
“ You ’ re taking every single thing out of the classroom , you ’ re wiping down the light fixtures , the walls , all the furniture before you put it back in . The gum comes off . This year includes the little plastic shields — they ’ re very difficult to get off — that has to come off , and everything that gets taken out gets wiped down ,” Murray said .
Mento said that work was also being done on the air systems at the schools .
“ We spent additional time looking at our circulation system , trying to do the best we can with better filters . We feel working in conjunction with the ionizers we purchased for some $ 300,000 last year that we ’ re going to have the best possible quality air in our schools for our faculty , staff and students ,” Mento said .
Murray said that regular maintenance also has to be done on all of the roof units .
“ We do all the belts — people don ’ t think all summer long this gets done — we do the HRVs [ Heat Recovery Ventilators ], the VRVs [ Variable Refrigerant Volume air conditioning units ] that are on the roof . We ’ ll clean them , oil them and put new filters in ,” Murray said .
Murray said that her crew is also in the midst of several painting projects .
“ Last year we did the ECEC ; this year we ’ re touching up all of the ECEC ... At the high school , if you had a home-ec hallway , the steel around the doors were painted , say , orange . Science
rooms were painted green , say . All them are now become blood blue — that ’ s actually our color . When we had the vestibules put in over the years , the blue that was chosen was called ‘ blood blue .’ Now , every doorway is being painted . That doesn ’ t seem like a lot , but when you walk into , say , Guidance , you ’ ve got 24 doors , and that ’ s a lot . We got the hallways done first , and we had a lot of happy people . That ’ s also getting done at the middle school , because it needs it ,” Murray said .
Other normal summer maintenance duties include carpet shampooing , lightbulb and ceiling tile replacement , washing and painting light lenses , unclogging lavatory plumbing — which sometimes involves the removal and resealing of toilets — and work on the lockers .
“ The major one is emptying out the lockers , then we have to physically change each and every combination by hand . That has to occur
See SUMMER , Page 18