Thank You, Very Much!

As we mentioned last week, Suffolk Construction was busy over the summer, not only building the new homes in Old Colony, but also fixing and painting the Perkins School. The second graders in Ms. Sweatt and Mrs. Murphy's classes were busy last week too. The kids thought the construction company and the painters deserved a official "thank you." So, yesterday they got one, second-grade style.

Mr. O'Toole of Suffolk and Mr. Schinazi of the painting company, Senices Enterprises, started out in Ms. Sweatt's class. As they folded themselves in student-sized chairs and waited, one girl overheard that Mr. Schinazi had painted the school.

"Did you do it all by yourself?" she asked. "No," he answered, "I would still be painting if it was just me. There were four of us." Four men painting the entire inside of the school seems amazing enough!



Once all the kids were assembled, two of them presented the men with a giant, beautiful card--with pictures and everything. Since everyone in the class wrote (and illustrated) a card, other students also had something to share. Mr. O'Toole and Mr. Schinazi had a pile of thanks to take back to work with them.





The pile got bigger after a visit to Mrs. Murphy's class. Some students stood and read their thank-you notes. After each one, everybody applauded. He didn't think anyone could hear, but Mr. O'Toole leaned over to Mr. Schinazi and said, "It's fun, isn't it?" Mr. O'Toole and Mr. Schinazi left with a stack of cards and letters.











We can't show you all of them; here are just a few. Remember, you can click on any picture to make it bigger.

IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! PART 2

Dateline:

September 8, 2011,

8:15 a.m.











Now that the kids actually are back, we can report accurately on what they saw.

This is the view from the front door. Still a construction site, but it's really getting there.











New kids might not have known about the construction site and the progress made over the summer.

But hopefully they saw the Perkins banner right over their heads in the hallway...



























Kids who were returning, however, noticed something else right away. The inside of the school had a new paint job!



















Thanks to Suffolk Construction Company, clean white walls!
Bright blue trim! And doors of both colors!

The kids' reactions?

"It looks less oldish."

"More blue."

"Comfortable."

"It feels like there is more light because there isn't a lot
of dark red brick that you see from the window."

The architects will be glad to hear that last one.

IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Well, only sort of. This post is dated September 8th, the first day of school, but it had to be written the day before. Teachers have been busy setting up classrooms and lesson plans for the last little while, but the kids are coming in today.

Boy, will they be surprised at the changes. What a difference a summer makes!


The construction site across the street is starting to feel very finished.

And, thanks to Suffolk Construction Co., the inside of the Perkins School is looking fantastic!

Curious? Stay tuned for pictures, and the kids' reactions, tomorrow.