December 20, 2006

Dear Parents,

As you can well imagine this has been a very exciting week at school. Students and staff have settled into our beautiful new wings and are enjoying the change. At this point old wings A (k and first grade) and B (2^nd and 3^rd grade) are sealed and under renovation.

While there is a need for asbestos removal in these areas, abatement of friable material will only be performed when the building is not occupied. As with previous removals, this process is highly regulated by federal, state and OSHA regulations to ensure that there will be no safety hazard to students and staff. The contractors are experienced in this type of work, and the District has engaged licensed professionals to oversee the removal and monitor air quality to ensure that the regulatory standards are met.

I appreciate your cooperation with all new traffic patterns and procedures. Parent pick up and drop off of students is at the front entrance to the school. Please pull into the parking lot and drive around to the sidewalk in front of the school, pulling up to the orange construction fence so that others who are dropping off and picking up have room to pull in behind you. Students will enter and exit through the main doors. During arrivals, please drop off your child at the sidewalk so that they can safely walk into the building. At dismissal time they will stay on the sidewalk and walk to your waiting cars. Please stay with your car, remembering that it is not safe to move until all children are safely in their vehicles. We will let you know that it is safe to move. Please understand that we will not allow children to walk to cars in the parking lot, or waiting in the loop, as this is never a safe practice. 

Once again, thank you for your continued support. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to call. Have a safe and happy winter break.

Yours truly,

Phyllis DiNatale
Principal

December 15, 2006

Dear Parents,

I have great news!! The first two phases of our construction project have been completed. Kindergarten, first, second and third grade classrooms will be moved into new spaces over this weekend. We are all very excited about these moves. As we open the new blue and red wings, we will close current wings A and B for demolition and renovation. I have included with this letter two schematics, one for the new internal spaces and one that illustrates our new traffic patterns.

It is so nice to know that I can count on your support as we implement the changes that are necessary to make sure tat arrival and dismissal runs safely and smoothly. As we mover into this new stage, please be award of the following:

• As students arrive on the 18th all available staff will be on hand to guide them to their new rooms.

• Security will continue to be fully enforced. Our security aide will sit in the main lobby.

• Buses will use the first driveway to access the bus loop. They will drop off and pick up bus students at the gym lobby each day.

• SACC and the Early Morning Program will be held in the new gym beginning 1-2-07. Beginning on that date, parents of EMP and SACC participants should use the parking spaces located within the loop to drop off and pick up their children. These programs will remain in their current location (cafetorium) from 12-18-06 to 12-22-06. During that week parents will access them through the main school entrance.

• Students who walk through Quincy Avenue will cross the construction driveway through the crosswalk and walk on the sidewalk around to the main entrance each day. Staff members will be there to assist these students.

• Walkers from Melvin Avenue will continue to walk through the Trinity Church driveway. They will cross the bus loop and proceed on the sidewalk to the main entrance. Again, staff members will be there to assist.

• Parents who are dropping off or picking up their children will enter through the second driveway and drive through the staff parking lot to the sidewalk in front of the main entrance.

• All teachers will lead their students on tours of the full building of Monday during the school day.

There will be staff members available both outside and inside the building to help students and parents as necessary the first few days. Remember that this information, along with the schematics, is always available to you on this site. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to call. Once again, thank you for your continued support.

Yours truly,

Phyllis DiNatale
Principal

September 2006

Dear Parents,

Much progress has been made over the summer with regards to our construction and renovation, and we look forward to welcoming our students back to school on Monday, September 11. Construction work will continue throughout the school year and the interior of Central looks very much as it did at the end of the last school year with a few exceptions:

• Ceilings in the hallways will be open to allow the construction workers access. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of the building inspectors, the construction management team and our own buildings and grounds crew, this has been accomplished in a way that ensures the safety of students and staff.

• Since, during this phase of construction, the classrooms located at the connecting points of the new hallways have fewer windows, air conditioners will be provided to ensure proper temperature and air circulation.

• Students will be able to eat in the newly renovated cafetorium beginning with the first day of school. During the first week students may bring their own lunch or they may purchase a lunch from Child Nutrition. Turkey, tuna salad, chicken in BBQ sauce or beef boxed lunches will be available at a cost of $2.25 each. Lunch tokens will be available at a cost of 5 for $10.75. This will give the kitchen staff time to familiarize themselves with their new workspace.

Our ongoing construction necessitates changes in arrival and dismissal procedures. When school opens we will have access to the building through the second driveway only. Staff and busses will turn right into the front parking lot. Parents dropping off and picking up children will turn into the driveway and proceed straight ahead to the back of the building where a safe drop off and u-turn area is located. Visitor parking is also located in this area. For the safety of our children, visitor parking will not be available for use during arrival and dismissal time. You will be able to park there at all other times as needed. Please be sure to consult the enclosed drawing of the new traffic patterns and retain it for future references.

Students will enter school through our temporary main entrance at wing A, with the exception of those students who walk from Melvin Avenue through the driveway of Trinity Church. They will enter and leave the building through the wing B door and report to their classes from that point.

Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to ensure that these changes occur safely and efficiently. I encourage you to allow your children to ride their assigned bus to and from school each day as vehicles dropping off and picking up students will need to travel slowly through the turn around area.

Remember that, though we may be inconvenienced now, the beautiful changes to our aging building will serve our community's children well for many years to come. Together we look forward to a successful and exciting year.

Sincerely,

Phyllis DiNatale
Principal

June 29, 2006

Central School will be closed for construction during the summer months. Mrs. DiNatale and her secretary, Mrs. Lucks have a temporary office at Warnsdorfer Elementary School, located at 9 Hardenburg Lane. Mrs. DiNatale and Mrs. Lucks can be reached at their regular Central School office telephone number, (732) 613-6820.

June 9, 2006

Dear Parents,

As you know, our multi purpose room and kitchen will close for renovations at the end of the day on Friday, June 16th. On Monday and Tuesday, June 19th and 20th students will eat lunch in their classrooms. They can bring their own lunches or purchase a cold lunch at school.

Part of the renovations that will take place at this time will be the removal of non friable asbestos containing floor tile. This removal is a process by which the floor tile is removed intact using either heat or water and disposed of as prescribed by law. Because the floor tile is non friable, it is safe for the building, with the exception of the multipurpose room and kitchen, to be occupied during this time. The areas involved will be kept secure with access limited to authorized personnel only.

A state certified Asbestos Safety Control Monitor will be monitoring the work to ensure compliance with N.J. Subchapter 8, federal and local asbestos regulations during the entire removal project. The floor removal is expected to start on Monday night, June 19th. All floor tile removal work will be from 3 pm to 11 pm. The removal process is expected to last one week.

Should you have any questions concerning this project, please contact Mr. Milton Webster, East Brunswick Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds.

Yours truly,

May 31, 2006

Dear Parents of Fourth and Fifth Grade Students,

We are all very excited about and interested in the construction that is going on around the building. Since students rarely get the chance to see this kind of activity up close, I am organizing a "Kids Hard Hat Tour." The plan is to involve one student, selected by lottery, from each fourth and fifth grade classroom. Together with the project manager we plan to tour the site. The students will then turnkey the information they learn to their classes and then to younger classes.

For safety reasons this group needs to be very small (7 students.) Each one will be outfitted with a hard hat that will remain on for the entire tour. Mr. Jon Santangelo, our project manager will accompany the students and me. He will guide us safely, provide information and answer questions.

May 25, 2006

Dear Parents,

For some time now we have been concerned about the condition of the American Elm tree located on the Wing A side of the building. This tree is very old and has had a prominent place in the history of Central School. Last year we held our Arbor Day celebration at its base and it has been a favorite of generations of Central School families.

Representatives from the F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company have been watching and assessing the tree for the past few years as it seemed to be flagging, (having limbs with smaller than usual leaf size, leaves that are wilting or drying out, or even dying back.) We recently received word from this company that the tree is indeed dead. The death of the tree is attributed to last summer ’s drought and an infestation of beetles. We received notice from Tom Purcell, arborist representative and New Jersey certified Tree Expert # 440 that, "The recent construction project that began around the school had no impact on the death and did not contribute to the decline of the tree."

The tree will be taken down and removed by the end of this week. We hope to be able to retrieve a slice of the trunk of the tree so that our students can study it and calculate its age. We are very sorry to see this grand old tree go.

Yours truly,

May 22, 2006

Dear Parents,

I need your help making some changes to ensure the safety of our children as the building continues to change. As you know, we are using the door at the end of wing A as our primary entrance with the door at the end of wing B as the secondary. I am concerned about the amount of activity that surrounds wing A each day as students exit the building. Those who are dropped off or picked up by parents, walkers who walk to Quincy Avenue as well as all of those who ride our busses all use that door! Busses are leaving at the same time as cars. This creates a dangerous situation for students who are walking and for those picked up by their parents.

From tomorrow (May 23rd ) on, at the end of the day, ALL students in grades first through fifth who are being picked up by their parents will be dismissed through the door at the end of wing B. (The second and third grade hallway) If your older child picks up a younger one we will ask that they escort them to the wing B exit. Walking students will continue to exit the building on the side closest to their walking path. All kindergarten students will continue to use the wing A door.

I understand that this represents a big change for many of you but it will help to ease the current situation outside of wing A. Our construction crew promises to put stone down to form a path to help parents who will be walking from the parking lot to meet their children at the end of wing B. Staff will continue to be posted there also. We will talk with the children tomorrow and staff will help them to remember to meet their parents at the wing B door.

There are also a few schedule changes of which you should be aware. Our spring concert , initially scheduled for May 31st has been rescheduled for June 7th and will be held at the High School. While our moving up ceremony for fifth grade students is still scheduled for its original date, June 21st, it will also be held at the High School. Finally, our multi purpose room is scheduled to be closed as of Monday, June 19th, so that critical renovations can begin. Students will be able to buy cold lunches and will eat in the classrooms during the last days of school.

Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to call. As always, thanks for your support.

May 10, 2006

Dear Parents,

With Spring comes changes and this year, with construction, there are even more! Work will begin on the front of our school building beginning Monday, May 15th. As of that day, the following changes will be in effect:

* Our main entry will be through the door at the end of wing A where kindergarten and first grade classes are located.

* Most of the area in front of the school will be unavailable - fenced off and under construction.

* There will be one lane for buses and one additional lane for student drop off. Staff parking will be in the lot near Cranbury Road.

* Buses only will enter from the first driveway. (Our current entrance) and proceed in lane to drop off students near the entryway.

* All staff and parent cars will enter and exit through the second driveway.

* In order to drop off students we will ask you to enter using the second driveway, go through the staff parking area, stay in lane through the loop around and drop off students to the sidewalk at the designated area near the entryway.

* Students who walk through the Trinity Church lot only will enter school using the doors at the end of wing B. A staff member will be on duty there to let them in from 8:50- 9:10 each morning.

As you can imagine, this will be a big change for all of us. To further explain the changes, I have included a map on the reverse of this letter. We will be putting up new signs and there will be people stationed strategically along the way to help us for the first few days. Should you have any questions please feel free to call.

Yours truly,

Phyllis DiNatale,
Principal

Phyllis DiNatale,
Principal