Old Saybrook, Connecticut, High School Work Nears End

OLD SAYBROOK - When school started last Wednesday, students, staff, and visitors were able to utilize the new main entrance to Old Saybrook High School.

The new main entrance is now easily distinguishable since it is located in the center of the front of the building.

Julie Pendleton, Director of Operations, Facilities, and Finance for the Old Saybrook Board of Education said the new entrance is just one of many changes recently made to the school as part of a renovation and expansion project.

The guidance office and the main office also relocated to a new area near the main entrance to increase the building's security.

Two new science laboratories have been added in addition to major renovations to the five existing science laboratories.

While students in physical education classes and sports have no doubt noticed the new gymnasium floor, the newly seeded athletic fields need time to grow before they can open, Pendleton said.

The school's auditorium, which did not close for renovations until after last year's graduation, is expected to be completed by November in time for holiday productions.

Additionally, over the summer, hallways, classrooms and lockers were repainted giving the school a refreshed look.

"The building looks like a new building," Pendleton said.

The renovation and expansion makes the 40-year-old building a "facility which will be fit for today's programmatic needs," Pendleton said, adding that forty years ago services such as art, language, and special education were thought of in a much different manner than they are today.

Old Saybrook High School was not the only school which underwent change over the summer.

Science laboratories in the Old Saybrook Middle School also were renovated and the seventh and eighth graders are now being taught in newly enlarged laboratories.

In addition to creating a new computer technology laboratory in the middle school library, Pendleton said, the school also has two additional classrooms for those in the gifted and talented program.