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Our New Building
Yes, there is little else to say - we are home! I have told people that clearly, this is the most exciting time of my professional career - to be the Director of a new building with an incredible staff - I am so excited to take this ball and run with it - I take it very seriously that I have this wonderful opportunity given to me and I will work my hardest to make sure that every day your children are with us - they will receive the very best from our staff - and I can tell you I speak for all of our staff. Having a new building is just part of the big picture - everyone knows that you can have the best of all things, including a brand new building with new "things", but if you do not have the staff and education opportunities to go with it - that's only part of the big picture - but we are SOOOOO lucky because we have the staff to complete the picture. Our staff have all returned and have been brought together - we are finally all together in one building to form one strong preschool program.
So, yes it is true - we have the best new building but we also have the BEST staff to finish off picture or equation - your children are just so lucky to have this opportunity to be part of such a comprehensive and enriching program and we hope you feel that you are a very important part of our big family here at the Preschool CUBS!
I must end this blog by saying a few thank you's....first and foremost to the NA School Building Committee. Prior to this project I had little knowledge of this committee. I had heard of them but that was it - never did I realize how much of a caring and committed group they really were - but let me tell you - they met almost every other week to push this project through and be on top of every detail that went into this building. And....they totally respected my opinion on behalf of our staff and your children - my opinion always mattered to them and in fact they often looked for that. They continue to help me with my "punch list" of items still to be completed and clearly will follow us through completion - so a HUGE THANK YOU to all of our school building committee members - I hope you always feel proud of this wonderful building.
I also must thank Pat Saitta, our project manager. Pat has been so wonderful in leading us through every step of this project. He really does stay on top of things, whereever he is! Pat continues to work closely with us to be sure the building is totally complete, including the smallest of projects. It's been fun working with Pat and he continues to help me and teach me how to work with all of the ocntractors.
Our school administration went through a change on July 1st, which made me a little nervous with this big project going on. But I had nothing to be nervous of because the new administration jumped right in and are on top of everything we need - so I thank our past and new administration team for all of their continued support - I hope we make you all proud!
Triumph builders, including Camille and JR, have been just part of the building and an everyday name for us as our contact people with every little (and big) issues. They built a beautiful building and should be so proud of their final project. Because of the finest of details and the wonderful staff that will fill this building, very young children will come into our building scared and depending on us for so many things and one or two years later, they will walk out with skills many thought they may never have....children will learn to walk, talk, develop friendships, etc. but most importantly they will have a strong feeling of self confidence - does it get any better than that! So, a huge thank you to Camille, JR and all from Trimph for taking such good care of us!
I also want to thank the NA community - who all came together on a spring night at the NAHS auditorium and trusted Barbara Whidden and Jim Marini, that their proposal for a new preschool building was the right way to go....they were so right and I thank them for pursuing their goal - but I also thank the community for voting to approve this new preschool building - without the two of them and the voters of NA - we would still be spread out in different schools in North Andover.
Hopefully I have not forgotten anyone - but I'll be back if I did - my head is swimming with thanks to all - but to all involved I thank you so much - take a peek at our building in the pictures - it is all I dreamt of and so much more! I promise we will do all of those involved proud for every minute we are open each day - THANK YOU from all of the staff of the NA Early Childhood Center!
(I will now only write on this blog if something comes up but with the completion of this building may come the completion of this blog as well - I will continue to blog on the CUBS Corner Blog though - stay tuned......)
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The "WOW" factor was there!!!!! |
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 Yesterday I had the GREAT honor of showing our staff our new building. I have been waiting a long time for this and it was worth every minute of the wait. We all gathered outside of the bldg. and went in from there as a group. I honestly can say that I heard screams of happiness and faces of joy! They were just so thrilled with the smallest of detail. I do believe that they were just so appreciative of the fact that they feel as though the children's needs and staff needs were heard by all those involved in the design of this beautiful building. Details that would not mean so much to just people touring our bldg. meant the world to our staff - the wonderful things that will happen in this buiilding will make every bit of work and hard decision making so worth it. As I sit here at 7:45 a.m. writing this blog in the new building all by myself, I can't help but feel so honored that administration feel the trust in myself and this wonderful staff to bring the building alive with positive work and play by all. I walked in on Monday for the first day since we were able to be here with occupancy and I stood in the hallway all by myself - I looked both ways down the hallways and had tears in my eyes - tears of joy for our children and staff and all those that walk through these double doors. This is so right for the littlest of students in the North Andover Public Schools - they will get that start that they need and walk out our doors at the age of 5 with the confidence they need to succeed in our school system. I can go on and on with my words but it is hard to think of the right ones at this time w/o babbling on but I do want to say thank you to all those involved in this most special project - Our children are to young to understand but I hope in their future they will know all of the people that worked so hard to provide them with the very best environment that began their public school education - THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL !!!! Now, check back hopefully later today for pictures of our finished product - should be on page 6 of our photo page!
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I've waited for this blog!!!! |
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Yes, it's true - I have waited over a year to write this blog - our new building is nearly complete and I will be able to begin working in it next week!!! I cannot even believe this dream has come true. I must first begin by thanking Camille and JR from Triumph Building and Pat Saitta, our project manager and the North Andover School Building Committee- without all of their dedication we would not be opening in September. And...YES we are opening in September!!! The building looks great and is 90% ready for our children. What strikes me right away is how right this is for our children - I can't wait to fill the building with little faces and little voices - that is what really makes it our building! I have been truly honored to be part of this wonderful process of seeing our building be put together - every step, or nail, of the way. As you can tell from the progression of pictures, I didn't miss too many steps along the way. I am honored that all of those involved valued my input and the staff input as they implemented their plans. We are about to begin a new school year - we will be welcoming new children, new families and new staff in September. My hope and dream is that we make this building our home and a place in which many great things will happen! Children will learn to talk, walk, eat, become friends, but most importantly learn to feel good about who they are and what they are able to do and not "not do" when they leave us and take their steps into their next school. As teachers and staff I often say we want to always teach children to "reach for the stars" and in this new building the stars are just up there waiting for children to reach high and never hear the word "never"!!!
WELCOME ALL AND THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE THAT WAS INVOLVED IN THIS WONDERFUL NEW BUILDING!!! THERE ARE FEW WORDS I CAN SAY AT THIS TIME OTHER THAN THANK YOU AND WELCOME!!
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Take time to smell the flowers.... |
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OK, so the flowers are not quite growing yet but the grass is! First, I didn't realize how long it had been since I last blogged about the new building - I guess it shows how swamped the end of the year can be for everyone! I was at the building Thursday morning at 5:45 a.m. (yes, that's right - a.m.!) and I was noticing that not only were there trees planted BUT our grass was actually growing. It really is looking like it is ready for our little children to move in soon! As you can see from page 5 of the building photos, the inside of the building is really coming along. The power should be on within the week and the tiling in the halls is just about done. The rooms look great and hallway looks like it is going to be realy fun for scooterboard races! They are really working on the ceilings and walls from what I can see. They are also putting a lot of focus on the outside. The canopy is now green and the window shades are due in any day. They are also working hard at our flagpole area - we will very proudly display a 30 foot flag pole and flag. So, overall all is good. Triumph Builders have done an incredible job at keeping us on schedule and taking such care and pride in all that they do for our building. Not that I can compare it to anything since I have not built a building before - but I am so impressed by them and so thankful for making us feel like our building is the most important one they have every done (which i can't imagine there is any one that could be more important!!!). So, I thank Triumph and our own N.A. Building Committee - what a job!!! It is all like a dream come true!!!
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Funny thing happened on my way home the other day.... |
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OK, so I was on my way home on Tuesday and I promised myself that I would not go by the building site and drive right home....yes, that was my thought! So I was driving and got from the Franklin School down to the High School and a funny thing happened....my car turned itself around (it did, I'm not kidding!) and all of a sudden I was sitting in front of our new building site - you will not believe what was being lifted at the exact moment I finally arrived - it was my little preschool office being lifted above my head - I KID YOU NOT! Perfect timing! Anyway, it was an amazing time being there on Tuesday for a few hours just watching the precise raising and dropping of each of our pieces to the building - just amazing! Everyone showed such pride from the truck drivers to the men being there to position each piece to the building.The truck drivers asked what the building would be used for and I could not even begin to tell them the wonderful things that would happen in each piece to the building - just wonderful things! I told them children would learn to walk, talk, play, etc. in this wonderful preschool building. The few hours I was there on Tuesday was just amazing - I am so glad my car took me there by default - who else can say they had the unique experience of watching their preschool buildling be put together - piece by piece! Camille, JR and Scott have been unbelievable in making sure that our children have the best - I could see the pride in their faces as the pieces arrived and we were all so excited about them - it was like opening presents one by one! So, on and on I could go but instead - check out the pictures on pages 3 and 4 of the new building site - and YES, that was me unleashing the anchor (actually I have no clue what that piece is really called but this sounded good!) to the last building....ahh - no sweat!!! Can you tell how exciting this is all to me - I cannot really explain - it's all a gift that I am able to be such an active part of the new building process and I am thankful I have this opportunity.......check back soon!
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OK so how excited are you when you know you are getting a new car, new house, big present, etc.???? VERY would be the answer - so, yes as I sit here at 6:20 a.m. in my preschool office I am VERY excited because today is the day 1/2 of our new building arrives!! No I am not kidding! Not even a year ago we all sat at Town Meeting anxiously awaiting the final vote to see if we could go ahead with the plans to build our building. Less than one year later we are right on schedule and awaiting the arrival of our finished product. This is such a gift to a group of very special children in North Andover. Our little preschoolers deserve the very best start we can give them. And as I have said before, it is not the building itself that provides an enriching education for your children but it is the staff and administration. We are so fortunate because I truly believe that we have a wonderfully caring staff that strive for only the best for your children. So now they have a brand new environment that we can all call our home! We are SO thankful to the administration for supporting this wonderful endeavor. We also have such a wonderful school building committee in North Andover. I have really gotten to know them well and you would all be so impressed with how much they want the best for your children as well. Finally our project manager Pat Sciatta and Triumph Builders - all I can say is WOW! Pat has really brought us right along in this process, walking everyone through every step. Triumph Builders, overseen by J.R. and Camille, have been incredible! They want to do right and they want to provide your children with a safe environmnent that we will all be proud of - and so far I would say they have far exceeded that goal - so KUDDOS to all of the above - I have always been proud to say I work in the Preschool CUBS program and now I can be proud of the CUBS home as well! I will try to contain my excitement this morning but I can tell this might not be my most productive day - BUT I will have some great pictures to check back on later in the day!!!!!
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OK, so who said ordering for a new building was easy??? |
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As you probably noticed, my blogging and posting new pictures was absent these past few weeks (or at least I hope someone has been looking on our site and noticing!). Well, as you can see from my "mess" I have been a crazy person ordering all of the new furniture and equipment for our new building! I really do love catalogues and ordering - HOWEVER, I will not mind if I do not see another catalogue for a while now. In all seriousness, things are progressing very quickly with our new building. We are expecting the foundation any day now and the first "buildings" or "rooms" are arriving around May 7th! Things in PA are also moving very quickly. As you will notice from the pictures the drywall is up and they are working a lot on the inside of the rooms now. It is a very impressive process to be observing from this end. It is also very exciting to be a part of some of the decisions being made (although it is a lot of pressure to be making these decisions and we hope we made the right decisions!). As I look at the picture of the buildling when it will be in the final form from the outside, I just feel like we will have the luckiest little preschoolers to have such a beautiful new school with everything built just for them (did you ever hear that they made 10" toilets!!!!!). I also feel that our staff will be very lucky to teach in such a beautiful new building. I have to also say that we have a building committee that meets every other week and they strive for only the best for our little ones. They look for our advice to be sure the recommendations from Triumph builders will really work for our children and they trust us and value our input. I thank them so much for their very hard work! All in all it is a project that I feel honored to be a part of and I will be very proud to show everyone what a wonderful school this is from the outside, and more importantly, from the inside where our teachers pour their heart and soul into their teaching!!! |
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