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Mostly Cloudy Hewlett unveils improved middle school
New cafeteria, library, home and careers room opened to public
Parents and community members were enthusiastic and pleased with the latest developments in the Hewlett-Woodmere School District's $17-million improvement project at Woodmere Middle School, which includes a new cafeteria, library and home and careers room that were unveiled during an Oct. 19 open house.
“It’s all wonderful. They’re doing a great job,” said Paul Shanab, a middle school parent from Woodmere. “It’s nice to see that our tax dollars are at work. It’s not done yet, but it is an unbelievable improvement for these kids and for this district.”
The $17.3 million Woodmere Middle School improvement plan started a few years ago with the replacement of the school’s roof and hallway lockers. A new gymnasium was opened last year.
The 6th grade choir performed in the auditorium that Monday, when the second wave of the project was unveiled to parents and community members who were able to look at the new cafeteria, library and home and careers room.
“This is truly a celebration,” Woodmere Middle School principal Richard Berkowitz said. “Our students are getting some well-deserved and well-needed improvements. We’re very grateful to the board and leadership that they recognize the importance of upgrading the facility, as well as the parents that supported this improvement.”
The new cafeteria makes use of the old gym space, and is much larger than the old facility, school officials said. “There’s really no comparison,” said Dennis Sheridan, Hewlett-Woodmere’s executive director of Facilities and Operations. “The original cafeterias were divided into a large and small room on either side of the kitchen. We were able to capture some of the old gym, 60 percent of the 7,000 square feet, which will give the opportunity for the students to come by grade and enjoy their lunchtime.”
The new library, which uses the other 40 percent of the old gym’s space, has a more practical layout, officials said. It also has an area for students to use computers and benefit from the use of a SMART Board, an interactive whiteboard.
