Mindess School Building Project

Exciting day for the kids (and adults)! We turned the playground over to the school this morning. Classes are going out individually today for rules and getting familiar with the new equipment.

With side walks and finish paving complete they are finishing up the landscaping around the playground. Almost ready for kids!

The kids are getting really excited! Playground surface is installed!

Exciting progress at Mindess today. The playground surface installation began and initial paving done on the bus loop and basketball court.

The kids have been excitedly watching the progress on the playground. All the equipment is in the ground and it is prepped for pouring the playground surface next week (weather permitting). Still a lot of work before they can use it, but this is a big and exciting step!

Third grade curriculum night, our first school event in the new building. Great to see so many third grade parents!

Thank you to everyone who came out today to celebrate the opening of the new school!

Below is the WACA stream link for the ribbon cutting

The David Mindess School Opening Ceremony 10AM September 9 2024 The David Mindess School Opening Ceremony 10AM September 9 2024

The Mindess Grand Opening is this Saturday (9/9)!

There will be a ribbon cutting cememony starting at 10am. Due to limited space, we can only accommodate invited guests for the ribbon cutting. WACA plans to stream the ceremony on their YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/) and page (https://www.facebook.com/wacatv) for any members of the public that want to follow along.

Starting at 12:30 (until 4:30), we will be providing guided tours of the new building to the public. Everyone is welcome. Please do not come before 12:30. Please enter the school through the main entrance (by the clock tower) and continue into the cafeteria. All tours will begin in the cafeteria and end at the main entrance.

We hope you are as excited to see the new building as we are to show it to you! Hope to see you Saturday 12:30-4:30!

We did it! This morning we welcomed our first group of students into the new building. It was great to see and feel all the excitement. The students and staff did an amazing job working through all new procedures in the new spaces.

A special thank you to project team (Shawmut, Vertex, Flansburgh) for their hard work and perseverance that allowed us to safely open this great new building.

We have a very busy week. Teachers are in today as the crews work on final paving and sidewalks in preparation for students next week!

As part of our committment to sustainability we contracted with IRN The Reuse Network, a company that specializes in finding reuse opportunities for furnishings and equipment. Through this partnership, not only did over 37 tons of furnishings get diverted away from landfills, but (more importantly) the furniture from the old Mindess has found new life helping people in Senegal.

The full report from IRN can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e-WDV734driC1Uai0HJfKVwK0eRt5Vqo/view

Finishing touches happening in and around the new building, and demolition of the old Mindess is nearly complete.

Demolition of the old Mindess began today. It served our community for the past 69 years.

A busy week of furniture deliveries, finish flooring and wall panel installations, as well as tons of site work at the front of the site. Building abatement has started.

The games lines and final coat are on the gym floor!

Very busy as we wrap up the last school year in the old building.

Yesterday the team was excited to take these (current) fourth grade Girl Scouts (Troop 67223) on a tour of the Mindess project. They will be the first fifth grade class in the new building. The team also toured the new building with the (current) third grade Cub Scouts of Den 7.

A lot of finishes happened as we approach building substantial completion in July.

Ahh, the smell of wood. Subfloor preparation for flooring installation in the gym.

This is a very busy time for the Mindess project. Along with all the interior work, with the good weather comes more work outdoor work at Mindess. We have received and started planting our first deliveries of landscaping trees and plants.

Yesterday Eversource energized the new building's permanent power! This is an important project milestone. Meanwhile, rapid progress continues on the interior, and exterior site work has resumed.

The project is bustling with activity and the interior is changing by the hour. The classroom pods are getting their paint colors, the bathrooms and hall walls are getting tiled, most rooms have cabinets installed, whiteboards are going up, the building exterior is nearing completion, and our sitework contractor has remobilized in preparation for a busy summer.

Last night we shared renderings of the playground and interior courtyard with the building committee.

NOTICE: Due to the expected weather, the Mindess School Building Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday 3/14 at 6pm will now meet virtually. The online/virtual meeting were updated on the Town website.

There has been a lot of activity since the last update. We have more brick and precast on the exterior, polycarbonate along the top of the gym, basketball hoops installed, tile installation underway in the kitchen, cabinets and countertops in classrooms, millwork in several areas, and equipment installed on the mechanical roof.

A lot of work on both the exterior and interior spaces. Precast panels on admin and clocktower, window installation continuing, drywall and start of paint in many interior spaces.

A few update photos. The team continues to progress on the exterior brick, precast, and windows, and has begun to install drywall on some interior sections.

Happy Holidays! The mason continues to work around the back of the building, the windows are starting to be installed, and the interior framing continues.

Updates from this week. The mason continues to work on the north (back) of the building towards the classrooms. A lot of framing and rough-in of HVAC and electrical occurring inside.