Grand Opening Held at New Junior High, New Primary Wing
The Hudson City School District celebrated the completion of a brand-new junior high school in the southern wing of the junior-senior high school complex and a new wing on John L. Edwards Primary School with an open house, complete with live music, slides, refreshments and freedom for attendees to wander and explore the new hallways and classrooms. Simultaneous celebrations took place at the junior high and, on a quieter scale, at the primary school.
“We’re off to a great start,” Junior High School Principal Derek Reardon said in his address to the crowd at the Grand Opening Celebration in the new junior high gymnasium. “Our technology is second to none. We have 25 Promethean Boards, two Elmos, a laptop cart, a great computer lab: Everything is here. This is state-of-the-art, the best in the county.”
“One generation plants the tree, another generation gets the shade,” said Superintendent Jack Howe (above), quoting a Chinese proverb. He praised the work of Rhinebeck Architects and the BBL construction team in creating the new buildings.
ABOVE: From left, architects Maggie Delgado and Jack Sharkey, BBL construction managers Raymund Racaza, Mike Delima, and Bill Jewett, HCSD Buildings and Grounds Director George Keeler and BBL's David Wall.
On hand were Bill Jewett, Raymund Racaza, Mike Delima and David Wall from BBL and Maggie Delgado and John Sharkey from Rhinebeck Architects. Also present for the ceremony was Delgado’s mother, Columbia County Historian and retired Germantown School District history teacher, Mary Howell (left).
The Junior High Choir, conducted by Mary Lou Knull, led off the assembly.with the national anthem. This was followed by a three-minute slide show highlighting the changes at both schools, and then Superintendent Howe, a Hudson High graduate from the class of 1974, addressed the crowd.
“I can’t thank you enough,” he said to the 60 people who had braved the rain and cold to come to the junior high school. “This is a great day. There are a lot of things you could be doing on a Saturday in October.”
Mr. Howe asked them to tell their friends, relatives and neighbors who couldn’t make it Saturday, “Call us – we’ll get you in here. Today’s not the only day you can tour our new school.”
Principal Reardon (right) then welcomed everyone to “our wonderful, beautiful, new junior high school. This is our opportunity to say thank you to the community for your support.” He thanked Associate Principal Antonio Abitabile, the teachers, the aides, the superintendents and the students for helping to put Saturday’s event together, singling out especially Buildings and Ground Director George Keeler and members of the junior high school choir and the National Honor Society, and all those who worked on the display cases and refreshments.
The Junior High Choir contributed two more lively numbers, “Like the Beat of a Drum” and “I Thought I Lost You,” before the crowd dispersed to see the 7th and 8th graders’ new digs.
LEFT: Members of the Junior High School Choir, under the direction of Mrs. Knull, add some melody and rhythm to the day's events.