Chipmunks Play Hide and Squeak While Permit Delays Stall Conners Emerson Building Start
BAR HARBOR—Dr. Heather Weir Webster is the type of person who puts down her blanket for a place to sit well before the Fourth of July parade.
She is the type of person who likes to know what is going to happen. She’s the type of person who wants to know what the expectations are.
So, she and the staff have been really focusing on making sure that the students at the Conners Emerson School know what to expect and how their days will go from the moment they step in the door.
“They really thrive on structure,” Webster said.
That structure can help when things don’t quite go as expected. “Things” could mean new school construction timelines, a lot of staff absences on one day, or it could mean some small, furry guests that keep coming back for a visit.
“We heard a screeching like something was going down the wall and then a giggle,” Dr. Webster told Bar Harbor School Board members, September 16.
A little later it would happen again: a screeching and then a giggle.
And again. A screech. A giggle.
It was the chipmunks. Perhaps they were looking for the Nutty Professor? Maybe trying to learn some facts to put in their nut-books? Or maybe they were hoping to learn some nut-ology. Whatever the reason, they keep coming back to a school that’s used to infiltration from water, biologicals, but not typically sub-species of ground squirrel.
“They seem to like our office the best,” she said of the visiting small, striped rodents. “We are working diligently to get the chipmunks out.”
The chipmunks, however, seem to really like the Conners Emerson School and keep returning, adding a bit of a complication to the beginning of the school year that follows a summer getting ready for a multi-million school construction project.
“It was a very, very busy summer. Probably one of the busiest I’ve had as a principal,” Dr. Webster said.
Part of that busyness was hiring.
The school’s current enrollment is 348 and the school has just hired two new education technicians: Jazmine Ortuno and Cassie Garland. Robyn Hanson is the new special education (SPED) teacher, working two days each week and the school is still advertising for a full-time sped teacher. Will Mossing will be the long-term substitute for Helen Jolley while on maternity leave. This means the school will now have to hire a long-term substitute educational technician to replace him.
BUILDING UPDATE
A large part of Webster’s busy summer was about making sure that the faculty and staff were ready for a school year where construction is expected for a brand new school on the same site off the Eagle Lake Road.
“We all had a little bit of underlying anxiety about the new school build,” Webster said. So, they played Faculty Feud at the beginning of one of the summer staff days. “They really got into it. It was super funny. There was a lot of laughs.”
The staff went into collaborative work and looking at the school day from a student’s point of view.
“That was followed by celebrating successes from last school year, planning for this school year, and hearing all about the amazing summer work done by our staff over the summer,” Dr. Webster in her principal’s report.
The construction has been a focus on top of Dr. Webster’s normal duties. Part of that focus is figuring out the logistics of outdoor play time and parking and keeping kids safe during the rebuild, which is estimated to take approximately two years.
School Superintendent Michael Zboray said there could be close to 150 construction workers on site at one time. The clerk of the works for the project has not been hired yet.
In June 2023, Bar Harbor voters passed a $58 million bond to rebuild the ailing schools, which were built in the 1950s and support the town’s K-8 population. Broken boilers, rain inundation, a wall pulling away from the foundation, poor air exchanges, limited classroom space, and a lack of insulation are just some of the buildings’ recent problems.
Dr. Webster and Zboray met with construction contractors, Wright Ryan, on September 13, discussing pre-construction aspects such as where the fencing will be, where people can park. Staff from Wright Ryan will be up again on Thursday to talk about logistical pieces. Parking will be one of the most difficult aspects. Ideas include using the YMCA lot and bussing some staff or construction workers to the school or carpooling.
“We’re sort of slowly figuring that out,” Zboray said.
They are also working with the DEP about waste questions. Permits from the state DEP are delaying the project’s start.
Zboray said he appreciated the town code enforcement office’s work and that most of the town permits are done. Construction was originally slated to begin this summer.
School Board Member Misha Mytar asked about any known implications from the delay to the start of the construction. There is no penalty in the contract, Zboray said, and Wright Ryan has stated that they will work diligently to work to meet deadline, but he anticipates an equivalent shift.
The playground space and where kids congregate in the morning before school and then at recess are pieces the administration is still finetuning.
“It’s not going to be ideal,” Dr. Webster said. “We’ve been thinking about this every day, for at least three hours a day.”
School Board Chair Alexandra Simis said that updating the construction website might be a good idea to help communicate with the community. The engineering firm hosts the website and each update costs money.
“Now is a really good time to ramp up our communication with the community,” Simis said.
Dr. Webster suggested putting updates in the weekly Tiger Talk newsletter and on the school’s own webpage.
FUNDRAISING FOR NEW SCHOOLS
In June 2023, Bar Harbor voters passed a $58 million bond to rebuild the ailing schools and support the town’s K-8 population. Broken boilers, rain inundation, a wall pulling away from the foundation, poor air exchanges, limited classroom space, and a lack of insulation are just some of the buildings’ recent problems.
The bond passed 1,005 to 502. Last month, local businessman Stephen Coston donated $100,000 toward the project.
“A big thank you to our donor for the $100,000,” Zboray said. “It was great to have someone step up and make a commitment to the town and the students.”
He said he hoped it starts the school down the road for more donations and that he’s meeting with someone from the community willing to help, or give advice about, getting donations.
“I’m looking forward to that,” Zboray said.
SICKNESSES AND ABSENCES
The school year has been stymied by sicknesses so far. The maintenance staff of five was down to one member one day last week.
“They’ve been hit very hard with illness,” Dr. Webster said.
In just one day recently, fourteen people were out for the whole day or could only work partial days.
“We’ve had COVID. We’ve had strep. We’ve had a couple of people who have had extended illness this year,” Dr. Webster said.
There are two people on staff that they can swap in and out of other positions when substitutes can’t be found.
OTHER BUSINESS
The school hosted its open house last week, which Dr. Webster said was a huge success and well attended.
“It was a good night,” said Vice Principal Mike Fournier.
Extra-Curricular Updates:
The school is looking to start up its Robotics team again and has a group of parents setting this into motion.
The Science Olympiad is off and running.
The show choir has a healthy group and will be doing Labyrinth this year.
The Outdoor Club will start again in January.
The Dungeons and Dragons club, which may be the school’s most popular, is going strong on Wednesdays.
Math Counts has a competing team for 6-8 and Coach Joel has a junior team which is grades 4-6.
Girl Scouts will now have two groups using the building after school.
S.T.A.R.S. uses the building on Mondays for the theater.
Professional Development:
“We have several teachers headed to national conferences in the next few months,” Dr. Webster said.
Lynn Hanna applied for a MMSA grant to be sent to the National Science Teachers Association in New Orleans Nov 6-9. There is a heavy focus on computer science at this conference so she will be joined by Chrissy Parkinson.
“It’s pretty cool,” Vice Principal Mike Fournier said.
According to Dr. Webster’s principal report, “Melanie Mace and Teghan Oswald are attending virtual trainings to learn more about the PAF literacy/reading program.
“Sue Bishop, Melanie Fessler, Jeanne Gilpatrick, and Kim Gray will be attending the Learning and the Brain Conference in Boston/online in November. This is an amazing conference that offers best practices into Emotional Regulation, the language of behavior, how to build resiliency, etc…
“Kelly Beaulieu is working with staff in grades 5 and 6 to improve the executive functioning of our students by learning how to use their planners. Time is set aside for students to prioritize tasks, estimate how much time it will take, and write down assignments. They will also have a 90-minute workshop on this topic during our first school-based early release day on Oct 4.”
The ELA teachers are using expeditionary learning (EL) units this year. The district has asked them to pilot one, but some are doing two. Kindergarten is piloting a new report card along with other kindergarten classes throughout the district.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
To check out the project, click here.
Here is a link to bond advisor’s Joe Cuetara’s discussion.
For information on the Bar Harbor School Committee, click here.
For information on the Conners Emerson Building For Our Future project, click here.
https://www.harriman.com/projects/
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