Board of Education Update - January 2025
Board of Education Update - January 2025
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Happy New Year to everyone. We hope you all had a nice and restful break.
As we start the new year, there are some important updates we want to make sure everyone is aware of:
Superintendent Search
The superintendent search is underway and seems to be going well. One important aspect of this search is getting community input. District Wise (our search consultants) will be holding a community forum on:
February 3rd, 2025, at 6:30 pm in the Monroe E. Haas Instructional Media Center (MS/HS Library).
For those who are unable to attend in person, please join at the same time on Zoom.
Meeting ID:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 833 0105 5530, Call in: 1-646-558-8656
There is also an email address that community members can use to submit their comments and thoughts: bbsupsearch@
We encourage everyone to participate in this process.
Facilities Updates
Baseball field
We are hopefully days away from receiving New York State approval to begin work on the baseball field. Once work begins, we believe that the project can be completed in a 2-3 month period, weather permitting. This still provides some optimistic hope that the field will be ready for the beginning of the Spring season. In addition, back-up plans are currently in the works to locate field space in case we have delays on the project.
HVAC System in the MS/HS
As we mentioned many times last summer in conversations about the bond project, the three AC chillers in the MS/HS need replacement. At that point one chiller was not functioning but the other two were working. Last week we learned that a second chiller is also not operational, leaving the building with just one functioning AC chiller.
As a result of this, the board declared an emergency condition at our meeting on Tuesday to expedite the process of replacing these chillers. Even with expedited treatment, given the timeline for state approval and the lead time to build and install these machines, we expect it to take 6-9 months for our new chillers to be operational.
We are also in the process of securing a temporary cooling system for our building to ensure the school remains comfortable during the warmer months until our new machines are operational.
Track, Press Box and Scoreboard
Along with approval of the baseball field, New York State will also shortly approve our renovations of the track, installation of a press box and the replacement of our main scoreboard for the soccer and lacrosse field. We expect this work to be done during the summer months and ready for the start of the next school year.
Other facilities updates from the bond
There are a number of other high priority projects that are currently being planned in the MS/HS, including bathroom renovations, classroom reconfigurations, electrical panel updates, etc. The current timeline envisions these projects occurring during the summer of 2026. We will continue to keep the community apprised as the bond projects progress.
If you have any questions about any of these updates, please feel free to reach out to Dr. Byrne at cbyrne@blindbrook.org or the board of education at emailtheboe@blindbrook.org.
Sincerely,
Dr. Colin Byrne, Superintendent of Schools
Blind Brook Board of Education
“Start with Hello Week” helps students create positive atmosphere
Students at Blind Brook Middle/High School have begun the new school year with a special reminder about how to create a positive atmosphere at the school and it begins with “Start with Hello Week,” which runs from Sept. 16-20.
The concept began with the Sandy Hook Promise, which helps support students and staff become more connected with one another.
“The goal is for schools to foster a culture of inclusivity and empathy in order to reduce bullying and increase connections,” the Sandy Hook Promise website states.
The week-long activities begin with students learning how to recognize when others are lonely or socially isolated, finding ways to help others feel included and techniques to start up a conversation.
“For this year's SWH Week, we hosted lunchtime activities that are focused on creating an environment where students can form new connections as well as recognize the trusted adults within their school community,” said Ashley Schlemmer, BBMS/HS Student Assistance Counselor.
“Some of our activities include writing conversation starters onto paper links to create a chain of ways in which people can engage with one another; creating Hello-Grams, with positive messages for students to share with their peers; wearing green to demonstrate solidarity and unity with the Sandy Hook Promise; writing letters of gratitude to trusted adults or completing a treasure hunt to locate spaces where students can find trusted adults; and finally, ending the week with a pledge to keep the Start with Hello spirit going throughout the year,” she said.