Staff Writer
BRIDGEWATER – Tears were shed and hugs were shared last Thursday as Bridgewater Grammar School students walked out of the 60-year-old building for the final time.
EMOTIONS RAN HIGH last Thursday as students walked out of the Bridgewater Grammar School for the final time.
Last November, residents decided by a vote of 232-108 to close the school June 30, 2009. The school will become the town’s building July 1. Here, faculty and staff share hugs and well wishes with the students before they headed home for the summer.
Last November, residents decided by a vote of 232-108 to close the school June 30, 2009. The school will become the town’s building July 1.
While the last day of school is always exciting as students are thinking about their impending freedom and vacation plans, the mood was visibly much more somber than in previous years.
“I’m really going to miss this school and the people here,” said outgoing fifth-grader Abigail Boyce, who has been at BGS since pre-kindergarten. “I’ve been here seven years and know a lot of the people who come here, but I’ve got a lot of special memories that I’ll take with me.”
“I’ve been attending this school since pre-kindergarten,” said student Chelsea Czekalski, who just completed the sixth grade. “I’m happy because it’s the last day of school before summer vacation, but it’s kind of sad, too. The school has been here for many years and I’ve had a lot of fun in the school. It’s too bad it’s got to close.”
According to Superintendent Gehrig Johnson, the idea of closing the school had been talked about numerous times over the years.
“I think what led to the ballot referendum was that the expense of keeping the school open had been an increasing burden over the last few years as the student population dwindled,” he said, noting the additional cost of keeping the school open had been estimated by the school committee to be $144,558 per year.
Twenty-five students had been attending Bridgewater Grammar School. The school also employed three and-a-half teachers, an ed tech, one secretary, a food services worker, music teacher and a school nurse.
“I feel really bad the staff has to find new jobs,” said Principal Ellen Schneider. “This is not a good year for that. We have one teacher whose name will go to the SAD 1 board as a nomination, we have one person who’s moving, and the others are in the process of looking for jobs. I hope things work out for everybody.”
Schneider became principal of BGS eight years ago when SAD 1 took over the operation of the school.
“It’s an ending … kind of bittersweet,” she said. “The kids have really done a very good job though. They’ve been really upbeat and I thank the teachers for that. We decided early on that it was going to be a celebration at the end of the year not an emotional rollercoaster for the kids, and the teachers have done a great job making sure that the children are prepared for their new school.”
The students will be transitioning to either Fort Street Elementary School or Central Aroostook Junior-Senior High School in Mars Hill.
Field trips and open houses have been held at both schools to give the children a glimpse of how things will be when school begins in August.
“For example, our students have never eaten in a cafeteria because Bridgewater Grammar School doesn’t have one,” said Schneider. “Lunch was always served from a window in the kitchen area and then the students would take their food to their classroom and eat there, so we made sure to incorporate eating in a cafeteria when they went up for their Step Up Day.”
While the students had several months since the results of the referendum were known to get used to the idea of the school closing, the last seven months flew by for most of them.
“How did it end so fast?” pondered Halee Rusby, who just finished the fourth grade, but has attended the school since kindergarten. “I’m sad because the school’s closing and happy because summer’s coming, but I’m trying to think of it as just another day.
“I’m really going to miss the teachers. They’ve all been really helpful,” she said. “I’ll always remember this year’s third-grade boys … they’re very crazy.”
Ironically Rusby’s mother, Jill, was one of the first kindergarteners to attend BGS, while Halee is among the last.
“It’s very emotional,” said Jill. “I feel like it shouldn’t be the end, but it is. All of my four children have attended Bridgewater Grammar School … it’s part of our family history. You always felt like this school was part of your home. Everyone was accepted with open arms, and it’s very disheartening that today has finally come.”
Rusby has many fond memories from her time at the school.
“I always tease my kids saying we were so bad in kindergarten that we had to have three teachers,” she said. “With the first teacher we had – her husband worked at Loring Air Force Base – and he got transferred so she left. Then we had a long-term substitute who filled in until they hired someone who actually hadn’t even graduated from college.”
Another humorous memory Rusby has from kindergarten was learning to write her name.
“The first teacher that we had was more modern and told me not to have a cross on the top of my ‘J.’ The next teacher that came along was old school and said you have to cross your ‘J.’ When the third teacher came along, I just wrote ‘ill,’” said Rusby. “She said, ‘Well where’s your ‘J?’ so I would put one in the left corner that had no cap and one in the right corner that had a cap on it, and told her, ‘Take your choice. Which one do you like?”
The final day of school was much more emotional for the faculty and staff.
“When I got up this morning and started getting ready for work, I was thinking how this was going to be a sad day … especially to see all the kids leave,” said Loretta DeLong, who has been an ed tech at the school for 32 years. “Fortunately this is a small town, so I know I’ll see them around.”
DeLong has helped educate hundreds of children over the years.
“I worked with a lot of these children’s parents,” she said, “and I loved every minute of it.
“I started out helping one of the janitors and then the principal asked me if I’d be interested in a job as an ed tech,” said DeLong, “and I’ve been here ever since. It’s gone by quickly though. Working with the children all these years hasn’t made me younger, but has given me more pep in my life. I’m going to miss them all.”
While DeLong doesn’t have a new job lined up yet, she’s been applying for positions in Mars Hill.
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed,” she said.
Doreen Archer has taught at the school for 17 years.
“It’s like losing my family,” she said, fighting back tears. “We’ve always had small classes, so you get very close to the kids.
“We’ve known since last November that the school was going to close, but we didn’t give it much thought until last week when we started packing up and looking at old pictures,” said Archer. “That’s when it started to get difficult.”
Archer had primarily taught first and second grade, but has also instructed pre-K, kindergarten and sixth-grade language arts.
“This has always been a warm, family atmosphere,” she said. “It’s been nice. You get to know the kids so well. There was never a day that I hated coming to work.”
Schneider said the teachers will take the items that are theirs or materials that specifically go with the unit that they teach.
“A lot of things will be left behind,” she said. “Some of our most recent textbooks we called around surrounding schools to see if they use them, and if they did, then we sent the books to them. For the most part, however, we’re taking things off the wall, making the rooms look neat, and taking what the teachers need and leaving the rest. Then the town can choose to do with it what they want.”
Schneider said she is confident the students will excel in Mars Hill just like they did at Bridgewater Grammar School.
“This has always been a community school and it’s got a small town feel to it, and that’s a good thing. The kids have always been in great hands, and their education has been topnotch, but you get to the point where the class size is just too small,” she said. “For the kids’ sake, they need an opportunity to socialize with a greater range of kids to make them more well rounded. Our teachers have done a great job with them, and I know they’ll be well ready for the next phase in their educational careers.”
According to Toby Hall, historian of the Bridgewater Historical Association, the current Bridgewater Grammar School building was constructed in the mid-1940s as a replacement to the high school, which burned down. It was used as a high school until the mid-1960s when local students started attending Central Aroostook High School.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
PRINCIPAL ELLEN SCHNEIDER takes a moment to sign Abigail Boyce’s autograph book on the last day of school at Bridgewater Grammar School.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
ALEX TOBY was the last child to climb on the bus last Thursday as Bridgewater Grammar School’s final chapter comes to a close.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
STUDENTS WAVE GOODBYE to faculty and staff at the Bridgewater Grammar School June 11, the last day in the school’s history.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
BRIDGEWATER GRAMMAR SCHOOL students boarded the bus last Thursday afternoon for the final time. Last November, residents decided by a vote of 232-108 to close the school June 30, 2009. The school will become the town’s building July 1. The students will be transitioning to either Fort Street Elementary School or Central Aroostook Junior-Senior High School in Mars Hill when school resumes in August.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
HAVING THEIR LUNCH TOGETHER for the last time at Bridgewater Grammar School are, clockwise from left: Chase Hentosh, Alex Toby, Sabrina Brewer, Jenna Rusby, Amy Gerritsen, Trinity White, Sam Brewer, Noah Boyce, Nick Bradstreet and Portia Shaw.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
THIS ROAD SIGN bid students and staff at Bridgewater Grammar School a fond farewell as the school observed its final day June 11, 2009.
