The rebuilding/expansion of the Angier School is complete and the school re-opened this morning.
Congratulations to all involved. As anybody who’s ever done any home re-modelling can attest, finishing a project of this scale right on schedule and under budget is an impressive accomplishment indeed.
We toured last night, and it was beautiful. Still some workmen there working on details, but these kids have now gone from an old school built in 1921.
where they ate in a hallway (cafeteria in a hallway)
two classrooms in the basement, one that had a sump pump hose running through it to avoid flooding in the gym
Classrooms with two plugs
A nurses room that had no privacy and not enough space
Not enough toilets for the students
To a modern school. Every child and family member last night was in awe of the new building. The nurses office is beautiful and functional and allows students to have privacy. The office is the first thing you see (after you enter two sets of locked doors). The classrooms have plenty of sunshine, and have lights that turn on and off with motion. The kids will have lunches that are not trucked in but made on site.
The kids are back in the neighborhood and no need for a long bus ride.
The school is beautiful and will function really well for modern students (laptops, computer stations, etc).
There will be a public open house in February, and I hope the taxpayers visit the school. Especially if you saw the old school. I know it cost alot for the tax payers, but the previous students of the last 30 years suffered in the old school, as did the teachers. It is a functional school building that will allow our students to learn in a great space.
Thank you.
There are new traffic lights, patterns and parking restrictions, so watch where you park!
We toured the new Angier last night. It’s fabulous.
They built a new school? @Jane, were you aware of this? 😉
Here’s a story about it from Laura Lovett in the Newton Tab
Excellent! Makes me jealous. Can’t wait to see the new Cabot school in a few years.
What a great day! It is wonderful to be back at Angier, and the new building is fantastic. There is a lot to take in. I was struck by the spaces dedicated to the delivery of special ed services. It is so nice that kids don’t have to receive extra services in the hallway.
I saw both Bill Paille and David Koses out there monitoring the traffic situation, which seemed to be flowing smoothly. I can attest that as a pedestrian approaching from the southeast, the new design works — navigating the new Waban Ave./Collins Rd./Beacon St. intersection felt much, much safer.
The community open house is Saturday, February 6th from 9am-11am. Come check it out!
Kudos to all who made this happen. While not at the scale of a NNHS, it’s impressive that it could be brought in both on time and within budget and be top quality to boot.
If this administration can do this for Angier, I have high hopes for Canot and Zsrvas as well.
… and I have complete faith that the quality of the construction at Canot and Zsrvas will be way better than Dan’s spelling 😉
Posting from smartphones isn’t very smart!
Greg, yeah I did hear something about a new school opening up somewhere in the city. 🙂
A huge shout out to everyone who worked to make this project come to fruition – on time, within the budget. It took the effort, cooperation, and coordination of parents, city employees, school staff, and elected officials at all levels.
According to my colleagues, it is absolutely wonderful inside – everything an elementary school should be to provide for a 21st century education to our youngest students. They are thrilled!
As the whiner-in-chief about the conditions of the elementary facilities over the years, I couldn’t be happier. This day represents a major step forward for the Newton Public Schools. With two new schools to come and the Aquinas property to open for the Preschool in September 2017, we’re on our way.
Forgot to recommend – parents and residents from all over the city should go to the open house in February.
I’ll send a Save the Date reminder about that open house to the V14 folks. 😉
I’m looking forward to seeing the new school and yes, Jane, you should send a reminder. This is a community blog and rather than be annoyed if something isn’t getting attention participants in this blog community should take the responsibly of sharing suggestions, preferably using the “contact” button at the top of this page.
I can’t wait to see it as well. I’m sure it’s beautiful. Money well spent.
Greg – I made an assumption that well informed residents were well informed on a variety of issues. My mistake. When a school issue arises that doesn’t involve HS start time, I’ll be sure to let you know.
Awesome news. Congrats to all involved! Enjoy!
Congrats to all involved. Im so glad the students, teachers and the staff finally have a great new school. It gives me hope for the next two. Excited for the tour.
I am glad the community is happy with their new school. I was a bit startled to see the new design structure. It looks very out of place next to the early 2oth century homes. The Carr school is by far a more beautiful structure. What is the more general response through out Waban?
Colleen:
Very few complete rebuild schools would be built these days from brick, and the early 20th century design would make for limited natural light. I think if you are trying to maximize energy efficiency and natural light, you get a modern looking school.
But have faith, the Cabot redo is a rehab in part, and I think it should be a great mix of the old and the new. I realize that this mix was difficult for a lot of Cabot parents, since there were definite advantages if the entire building was torn down, but I’m very happy with it. Sort of a mix of Carr and Angier.
As for the general response in Waban, I’ve heard tons of happy comments. Frankly, most folks if they complain are upset at the size of Zervais, not at Angier. But then I gently remind them that Waban’s elementary schools are bigger but also new and wonderful (even if not astheitically pleasing to all), and they shut up…eh…they mutter under their breath out of my presence. 😉
In all seriousness, one of my architect friends always tells me that if he doesn’t get at least one complaint about a new building, he considers it a failure. If everyone loves it, it can’t be a great building….
Angier is on a very small footprint i believe so i was taken with how well they seemed to utilize the space.
Not only did the Angier Design Team maximize the use of a property with a severely restricted available footprint, they also created a modern edifice that embodies the educational goals expressed by the Members of the Newton School Committee. The Angier Construction Team met monthly (just before our Waban Area Council meetings) to promptly address any problems experienced in the community affected by the construction and to report on construction progress. This is one case where State oversight of the design and budget may have driven the successful execution of the entire process. Angier is big, but I personally find it also beautiful, even with the constraints of the property’s borders. I’ve heard that the inside is amazing, too. I will definitely be there on February 6 to check it out!