Weather Related Issues at Hull High School

It is great to have all the students, faculty and staff back at Hull High School! 

There have been three weather-related incidents over the past few days of which I want to make you aware.

1. We did have a leak in the cafeteria today.  There are air vents on the roof and although the custodial staff has done a great job of shoveling the snow off of the roof, they did miss a few.  With the warmer temperatures today (34 degrees IS considered warmer this month!), as the snow melted water did come through the vents.  This caused a pretty big leak in the cafeteria.  School Business Manager Matt Gillis, Facilities Manager Frank Campbell and I inspected this today and our wonderful custodial staff (along with Jim Quatromoni) fixed the problem.  This was an isolated incident and we have confirmed that all air vents are now clear of snow
2. We discovered on Monday that a decorative piece of concrete on the roof above one of our back entrances had cracked and separated from the building.  This door is used by teachers entering the school from the rear parking lot and as an emergency exit.  Dr. Tyrell and I worked with Building Commissioner Peter Lombardo and Asst. Fire Chief Andy Thomas to assess the situation.  Scaffolding has been put up to ensure the safety of those using this entrance.  This necessitated restricting access to that doorway and the rear stairwell for a few days.  We have been assured by the Building Commissioner that when the scaffolding project is completed tomorrow that the use of the door and stairwell will be absolutely safe. 
3. Drifting snow has piled against half of the cafeteria windows.  Out of an abundance of caution, we have moved several lunch tables away from the windows.

As you know, the safety of our students is our first priority.  These two situations have been addressed and we believe that we have identified all weather-related issues.  There is still a lot of snow out there that needs to melt and we will continue to assess the situation each day.  Please know that our school community continues to be a safe and nurturing environment for all of our students.

On a separate note – in their advisories this morning, our students were asked to predict when there would be no snow remaining in the courtyard.  The advisory that comes closest to picking the day when there is no snow left will be given a pizza party. I don’t even want to tell you how many advisories guessed that it would be May before the snow is gone!  Here’s hoping that they are wrong!

As always – please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about our school.

Have a great night!

Mike Devine