Back to School Package
FALLS VILLAGE—Even if the August temperatures are soaring on the first day of school Tuesday, Aug. 27, the cafeteria at Housatonic Valley Regional High School should be cool and comfortable with newly installed air conditioning for the first time in the school’s 85-year history.
Students will be able to enjoy a number of capital improvements that have been completed over the summer, following the approval of a $5.6 million bonding package by referendum in a Jan. 8 referendum.
Principal Ian Strever shared the progress with The Kent Good Times Dispatch on Aug. 19 with a tour of the building that first opened in 1939. While the cafeteria was still looking unfinished, Strever said emphatically that the large room must and will be ready for the start of school. Workers were finishing up the flooring that day and eventually new oval shaped tables with attached stools will grace the room, replacing outdated tables with benches. Audiovisual improvements are also being installed to accommodate presentations at dinners.
“I am really looking forward to bringing our new faculty onboard and introducing them to our Housatonic family, as well as inhabiting the renovated spaces around the building,” Stever said. “There are a lot of fresh faces and fresh paint at Housatonic this year!”
Five new faculty members have been hired (see related story) as teachers. Freshmen Orientation is being held Friday, Aug. 23, from 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. in a program that introduces the new students in the Class of 2028 who are coming from six different towns to the HVRHS programs, teachers and fellow students.
There are a few changes that students will have to adjust to including not using their phones in class. Strever announced in early August to parents and students that they will be required at the start of each class period to place their cell phones in the holders that are located in each classroom.
“Students will be able to use their cell phones in lunch and study hall situations, and we ask parents for their support and cooperation with this policy,” Strever wrote in his letter. It was in response to Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s advisory earlier this year about the effects of social media on youth mental health, as well as the impact on learning posed by phone use in classrooms.
The free lunch program for all students that started during the Covid pandemic has ended.
Students will begin their first day with some team-building activities, prior to an abbreviated class schedule, that are designed to foster stronger connections among the school community, according to Strever.
The capital improvement project was designed by the architects at Jacunski Humes Architects in Berlin, CT. The school has been working through the process for four years, trimming the 58 projects identified by the school’s Building Committee down to 10 different capital improvement projects.
“The Building Committee has been great about advising us about what needs to be done. It is a credit to this committee that we’re not interested in changing the current look or the historic nature of the school but we just want to modernize it,” Strever said. He explained that the entire combined project was bonded and the school’s goal has been to keep the amount of debt about the same, without big fluctuations.
Strever shared that the balcony in the cafeteria is being closed and will now house air handlers. Because it is not ADA accessible, it can’t be used regularly by students any longer.
“Some of the features of the building that were great in 1939 are a little out of date,” he said.
Air conditioning is being added to Room 133, which is used for large meetings and study hall. A new cupola has been created for the top of the school that now includes a clock for the first time. The central office wing also had new air handler installed for HVAC that provides for both heating and cooling.
Other improvements include a new 300 kW generator, costing $450,000, that will power the entire building, and masonry repairs to several walls, entrances and walkways, including permeable pavers in the north and south porticos.
“Wherever we can, we’ve tried to make environmentally appropriate changes,” Stever said.
There has been a new fire alarm system installed replacing a 20-year-old system as well as an electrical upgrade with new circuit breaker boxes. Remodeled bathrooms for girls and boys have been installed in the science hallway.
The tennis courts have been totally replaced at a cost of $670,000. The new surface has a 25-year life cycle with a post-tension concrete system.
One area that won’t be ready and open for use is the auditorium. It is expected to open by the end of September, Strever said. New seating and a brand new HVAC system is being installed in the room that serves as the school’s theater and meeting room for the entire school. For the first time air conditioning will be available to those watching performances. Audiovisual upgrades that incorporate new technology are also in store. The combined cafeteria and auditorium project cost $3.4 million.
