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Mansfield Middle School
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Mansfield Middle School
Heating System Replacement Information
December 11, 2009
Heating Project - Phase II
Dear MMS Parents,
Now that our new natural gas boilers are up and running -- and all of the ceiling tiles have been replaced -- we have received funding to complete the system in two areas of the building that were not included in the original project. With the original state reimbursement for this project, we could not afford to include those two areas in the new heating system. The new state budget, which passed in the early fall, includes funding for this additional part of the project.
It would certainly have been less disruptive for everyone if this work could have been completed during the summer. We are fortunate, though, that the same contractors who installed the system will be completing this phase, as well.
This part of the project is much smaller in scope, and it involves the same sorts of demolition and installation that we experienced in the rest of the building. Yesterday while students and staff were at home for Veterans Day, ceilings were removed in the music wing corridor and in Mr. Carbonneau's room. For a few weeks from late December (after the concerts) through February, we will be moving the music classrooms to our classrooms in "the portables" -- the red building that is accessed from the end of the fifth grade corridor. Large music ensembles (choruses and bands) will meet on the stage during these weeks.
This project's effect on the Library Media Center won't be as noticeable to students. There we are removing oil-fired boilers and connecting the current radiators to the new heating system. This will not affect the operation of the library.
If everything goes as planned, we hope to be finished with this project by spring.
Because the contractor will continue to need the back parking lot as a staging area, we will keep using the grass area of the front circle for parking. If we get a lot of snow, this will put a strain on available parking.
Our contractor, Nutmeg Construction, has been very accommodating throughout this process, and we are confident that we will finish this part of the project with minimal disruption.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Jeff Cryan, MMS Principal / cryanj@mansfieldct.org
August 21, 2009
Dear MMS Families,
It has been a busy and eventful summer at MMS, as contractors have worked to renovate our heating and ventilation system. In our forty year-old building, it has been quite a project. We are on schedule to have the new heating system in place for the start of the heating season.
Our custodians have been working right behind the contractors to get the building ready for students next week. They are right on schedule, too, having scrubbed and waxed all of the floors, cleaned all of the furniture, and relocated several classrooms' worth of furniture. Our custodians routinely do a thorough job of keeping the building clean and safe; this summer they have managed to get the building clean despite endless obstacles in their way.
Here are the highlights of the work completed so far:
· All of the old, noisy classroom heaters have been removed.
· New ventilation duct work has been installed in the hallway ceilings.
· New heating units have been installed in most first and second floor classrooms.
· A small asbestos abatement project was completed in July, removing the floor tiles that had been beneath the old heaters, as well as the backs of some bookcases that had been mounted against electric heaters.
· Work on the new boiler building behind the school is nearly complete.
· New ceilings and hallway lighting have been installed on the first and second floors.
· The intercom system has been repaired and refurbished.
· Most of the gas line on Maple and Davis Roads has been installed.
With all of this work going on, teachers have not been allowed to come into the building until the past couple of days. With several room re-locations, this means that many of our teachers are facing stacks of material and furniture with just a day or two until school opens. Getting ready for school this year has been challenging for teachers because they have not been able to get into their rooms during the summer.
Likewise, our technology staff has had limited access to large parts of the building for most of the summer. During the first few days of classes, there will be fewer computers than usual available for students to use. As the technology staff can get into classrooms, the computers will become available to students.
These constraints will affect the appearance of the classrooms and the range of instructional activities during the first two weeks of school this year. Bulletin boards and classroom decorations will be at a minimum as teachers focus on unpacking and organizing the materials that they packed in June. Despite these constraints, MMS teachers want you to know that they have their lessons for the beginning of the year all ready to go.
With the return of students, the contractors will work in the afternoons and evenings after students are dismissed - just as they did last spring. There will be no construction work inside the building during the regular school day. Some contractors will be working behind the school during the day as they complete work on the boiler building.
Most of the remaining work is on the third floor, in the 7th and 8th grade corridor. There the hallway ceilings have not been replaced, and contractors are making connections between classrooms and the hallway ventilation ducts. Then the ceilings and lighting will be installed. This work will continue for the first few weeks of school. The third floor corridor will not be available for after-school activities until the work there is completed.
Throughout this project, we will continue to remind students to be attentive and safe. Only the third floor ceiling and part of the cafeteria ceiling remain open, and there is nothing overhead that students can touch unless they actively reach for it. Please join us in reminding your child to use self-control when walking through the hallways during this project.
As long as the rear parking lot is a construction site, our parking will be more limited than usual. We will continue to use the grass on the front circle as a parking area. Staff members are not parking in the striped spaces on the front circle so those should be available for parents during the school day.
As we go through these final few weeks of inconvenience, please try to keep in mind the advantages of the new heating system - less expensive classroom heat (natural gas instead of electric) and quieter classroom ventilation. The new hallway ceilings feature recessed lighting, and the cafeteria will soon have air conditioning.
Please contact me or Assistant Principal Candace Morell (morellcv@mansfieldct.org) if you have a question about any aspect of this project. Thank you for your patience and understanding while this work is done. We will continue to emphasize the need for a safe learning environment for students during every phase of this project.
We look forward to greeting your children on Wednesday, August 26th. Best wishes for a great start to the new school year.
Sincerely,
Jeff Cryan, Principal
(cryanj@mansfieldct.org)
429-9341 x151
April 24, 2009
Dear MMS Parents,
As you will see the next time that you are in the school, the project to replace the MMS heating system has gotten off to a fast start. During the April vacation, crews have
- erected fencing around the construction site at the rear of the building;
- begun site preparation for the new boiler building behind the sixth grade wing; and
- removed most of the hallway ceiling tiles, framework from the old suspended ceiling, and insulation from the hallway ceilings.
As of this morning (Friday, April 24th), the building has been inspected by the town’s health inspector, building inspector, and fire marshal. Each official has deemed the building to be safe and ready for students on Monday morning. Superintendent of Schools Fred Baruzzi and I participated in each walk-through. Final touches to get the building ready for students are being completed now by our maintenance and custodial staffs and by the construction workers from the heating project. We have tested the intercom, telephone and computer connections in every classroom, and everything still works.
The appearance of the hallways will be the first thing that students notice when they return to school on Monday. All of the hallway ductwork, pipes, and wires that make a large building work have been exposed during this week’s work. The wires have been bundled, and the lights are secured. Remember that students spend most of their days in classrooms which still have their full ceilings. Of all of our classrooms, only the art room’s ceiling has been removed.
We know that as middle school students monitor their day-to-day growth, they have a tendency to reach up and touch something. We will be emphasizing with students that they are to keep their hands down as they walk through the halls for the rest of the year. There is nothing overhead that students can touch unless they actively reach for it. Please join us in reminding your child to use self-control when walking through the hallways during this project.
For the duration of this project, parking will be more limited than usual. If you have been to school recently, you’ll have noticed that we are parking on the grass in the front circle, and staff members are pulling into the grassy area along the side of the driveway leading to the faculty lot.
Please be very careful as you drive into the front circle area before or after school. Children tend to be looking only for their family’s car, and they aren’t always as observant about the other traffic. Also, watch for vehicles backing up as you drive around the circle. And please never leave your car in the marked fire lane along the sidewalk in front of the library media center.
We welcome you to come in and see our temporary new look in the hallways before or after the school day – as long as there is parking available. Staff members are not parking in the striped spaces on the front circle so those should be available to parents as you come into school during the day.
As we go through these few months of inconvenience, please try to keep the advantages of the new heating system in mind – less expensive heat and quieter classroom ventilation. And, yes, there will be new ceilings in place to cover all of the wires and pipes.
Now that the hallway ceilings are gone, here are the next two phases of the project:
- During the school day, work will continue behind the building as the site for the new boiler building is prepared. All of this work is conducted within a fenced area so that students cannot access it. Exits from the building to that area are clearly marked as Emergency Exits Only. All of these exits toward the back of the property have seldom been used by students, except under a teacher’s direction.
- Installation of new hallway ventilation ducts will be done during second shift, beginning at 3:00 p.m.. Gates will be erected around the affected hallway each day so that students and staff members staying after school will not be in the construction area.
- There will be no construction work inside the building during the regular school day.
Please contact me or Candace Morell (morellcv@mansfieldct.org ) if you have a question about any aspect of this project. Thanks for your patience and understanding while this work is done. We will continue to emphasize the need for a safe learning environment for students during every phase of this project.
Sincerely,
Jeff Cryan, Principal
(cryanj@mansfieldct.org )
429-9341 x151
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