First week finished at fire-damaged school

ABERDEEN - The first week of classes at the Matawan Avenue Middle School went smoothly, with everybody working around the damage of a Labor Day fire that twice delayed the opening of school.

"We are generally pleased with how things are going," Schools Superintendent Bruce Quinn said.

The school is currently operating in half-day split sessions, with the seventh- and eighth-graders attending from 8:19 a.m. until 12:34 p.m., and students in grade six from 12:39-4:55 p.m.

"We had some bugs the first day," Quinn said. "The transition worked out well; it got better each day."

The borough of Matawan opened the doors to its community center to hold a morning latchkey program for the students in grade six.

"The community center was very accessible to us," Quinn said. "About 40 students showed up each day, and there was always adequate supervision. It worked out well."

The split sessions are a result of the lack of space caused by the fire. The fire damaged a sizable portion of the building that is still unsafe and being cleaned.

"We are trying to get classrooms back as soon as we can," Quinn said.

The Board of Education was hoping to resume full-time classes on Oct. 4, but that date is out of the question at this point, Quinn said. They are now shooting for Oct. 18, and are not even sure if that will happen, he said.

In order to open full time, the cafeteria has to be ready so the students will have a place to eat, Quinn said.

Also, the gymnasium will soon be ready to open, but will not be used for physical education because it will be needed to hold classes when the school opens for full-day sessions.

All students in the school are currently taking their one marking period of health. The marking period ends around Thanksgiving, Quinn said.

Once there are enough classrooms to open full time, a grade-six team may have to take classes at the Lloyd Road School, which houses grades kindergarten through five. The middle school groups its students into teams, with each team containing the same group of teachers. There are three teams of students in grade six.

In the areas that were damaged, some tiles need to come up and some walls need to be knocked down. The cleanup is coming along well, Quinn said.

The school also needs to replace a roof deck in an area behind its auditorium.

"The biggest problem is getting the steel for the roof deck," Quinn said. “As soon as they get the steel, they will start on that.

"We have to create a safe environment," Quinn said.

Things are going as best as could be expected, Quinn said. Although the sessions are shortened, things are going as smoothly as they can right now, he said.