WORTHINGTON — Students, teachers and staff returning for the new school year at the RH Conwell Elementary School will get a new roof as part of a three-part repair and maintenance plan for the building.
“The last renovation here was back in 2001, so we are taking a look at the health of the building in general and what needs to be done,” Principal and Worthington School District Superintendent Gretchen Morse-Dobosz said.
The whole roof is being replaced after suffering storm damage and leaking from burst pipes, Morse-Dobosz said.
“We wanted to make sure a new roof was put on first,” she said. “At the end of next year, we will have new siding, and we are looking at replacing all, or parts of, our sprinkler system.”
Work on the roof has been slightly held up by rain and excessive heat, leaving the work about one-quarter complete.
“We are at the mercy of Mother Nature. But that won’t stop us from opening,” Morse-Dobosz said, noting that she has been working closely with the building inspector to coordinate and ensure the safety of students and staff when the school opens Wednesday.
Morse-Dobosz said enrollment at the school has been growing since it reopened as a public elementary school in 2014.
“We are opening this year with 90 kids,” she said. “Five years ago, we started out with 41.”
She said she is excited to be adding more children into the school, as it brings in new faces, allows for more academic groupings and adds to the number of friendships and social interactions that can take place at the school.
“The good news is that more families are moving to Worthington,” she said. “I hope they are moving here because they hear we are a great school.”
This year, school officials will be taking a look at the maximum capacity for classroom size.
The cost of the new roof is being fully covered by insurance, Morse-Dobosz said. The second and third phases of repair work, which includes siding and a new sprinkler system, however, will have to go out to bid and be voted on at Town Meeting.
She said she hopes all repairs will be completed on the building by the end of next year.
WILLIAMSBURG — The Williamsburg Council on Aging and Our Lady of the Hills Parish are working together to bring an innovative food program to the hilltowns to help those in need.
The “Take and Eat” program is for anyone who is hungry who may be “isolated, or elderly, or disabled, or food insecure, or all of the above,” said COA Director Jennifer Hoffman.
The program was created in 2003 by the Rev. Francis Ryan to recruit and train volunteers to prepare and deliver hot meals free of charge to people who are homebound.
Unlike Meals on Wheels, which only provides food deliveries to individuals during the week, Take and Eat is designed to fill that gap and provide meals for people on weekends and holidays.
“The program is not religious, and we are not evangelizing or anything thing like that,” the Rev. Richard Bondi of Our Lady of the Hills Parish said. “We are trying to address food insecurity, and just like other places, this is certainly an issue in hilltowns.”
Bondi and Hoffman are looking for other churches and organizations to join ranks with them, as well as getting the word out to people who could use the food service.
“We want to start in Williamsburg and get our feet wet, but then we absolutely want to spread it up throughout the hilltowns,” Bondi said.
For more information or to participate in Take and Eat, contact Jennifer Hoffman at Seniorcenterdirector@burgy.org or call 268-8407.
HUNTINGTON — The Hilltown Community Health Centers are expanding their school-based health programs this fall to include eye cares.
Students will now have in-school access to eye care services and exams as well as medical, dental, nutritional and behavioral health services.
Enrollment forms are available at the beginning of the school year.
Ideas for this column on life in the hilltowns can be sent to Fran Ryan at fryan.gazette@gmail.com.