“We have a hole outside.” This is what Dennett School Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen said to indicate that the water treatment project at Dennett Elementary School is underway.
At the last school committee meeting on June 25, Principal Peter Veneto said the company they hired was at the school on June 23.
Veneto described their progress. He said, “They basically have punched through the building so that whatever is going to be coming out, I’m essentially calling it a drain pipe…to get the material from out of the building into the drywell.”
In addition to this construction work, Wilhelmsen said the needed piping equipment has arrived. He said they just need the plumber to install it.
Playground Update
Committee Vice Chair Jason Fraser updated the committee on the new playground project. He said options are still being explored, but some of the searching for playground consulting did slow down.
Fraser said the committee is still on schedule with trying to make progress over the summer and to have project details finalized by the September/October deadline. Veneto and Fraser plan to do another site visit to get more detailed plans down.
Nancy White from Playground Inspections of New England, LLC Fraser said, continues to reach out to the committee on a regular basis.
Education Stability Update
Silver Lake Regional Assistant Superintendent Jill Proulx went over the results from the school district’s education stability review with the school committee.
The education stability review assessed the school district’s effectiveness working with students in unique situations including homelessness, students in foster care, and students with family members in the military.
Proulx identified two areas the district needs to work on regarding these specific groups: policy and staff training.
As far as new policies, Proulx said the district is waiting for recommendations from the state. With staff training, they are in the preparation process. According to Proulx, there are some uncertainties, but she believes they are ready.
Proulx said, “That’s not something we’ve done in the past. It’s something we’ve done with select staff, but not the entire staff.”
Principal’s Update
Principal Veneto said the school year finished with strong enrollment at 206 students. He also expects the kindergarten class next year to grow to 32-33 students.
Other News
• Silver Lake Regional Technology Director Steve Pellowe got the phones at Dennett Elementary back up and running. The old system was no longer working, so part of the new system was installed. Veneto said, “We basically have the skeleton of what the new system is going to look like in place right now.”
• PAC finalized paraprofessional contracts for the next three years.
The next Dennett School Committee meeting is July 16 at 5 p.m.