Estabrook Gets the Gold

It’s been a roller coaster couple of years for Lexington’s Estabrook Elementary, but the school got some good news earlier this month when it was the only one in Massachusetts awarded a gold medal for school wellness.

Estabrook Elementary School earlier this month scored a gold medal for school wellness, a recognition jointly awarded by the state’s Public Health and Elementary and Secondary Education departments. Estabrook was the only Gold-level recipient in 2012, while South High Scommunity School in Worcester claimed bronze. The awards honor the schools’ “strong commitment to the health of their students and staff,” according to the state’s announcement. In explaining Estabrook’s award, the state noted the school’s annual the “Run of the Mill 5k” and “Jim Banks Kids Fun Run,” held each May.  “The event promotes the idea of running together as a family and a school and attracts over 250 participants from the community,” the announcement says. …

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Special Town Meeting: A Dedication, Then On with the Money Business

A special Town Meeting convening tonight will take up articles seeking additional funding for the Estabrook School building project and access improvements, along with a tax increment financing request from Vistaprint.

It'll start with a dedication, and then they get down to the money business. At 7 p.m. tonight at Cary Memorial Hall, prior to the start of a special Town Meeting, a ceremony will be held for the dedication of the building’s auditorium, to be renamed as Margery Milne Battin Hall. Over the summer, the Board of Selectmen approved the naming of the auditorium after Battin, a former longtime town moderator and role model for women who died less than two weeks after that decision. “I can’t think of anybody in this whole community who has made more of a contribution to the community,” Norm Cohen, a selectman, said at the time. The dedication came after a request from Bill Dailey, another respected resident, who suggested naming the auditorium …

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PHOTOS: Breaking Ground for a New Estabrook Elementary School

After the discovery of PCBs before the 2010-2011 school year, the Lexington elementary school has been on the fast track through the MSBA approval process and now onto construction.

Here at Lexington’s Estabrook Elementary School for a day that’s been two long, hard years in the making, State Treasurer Steve Grossman, the chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, looked to the podium he stood behind to find the perfect words to open and close his address. “I don’t think any phrase could be better than ‘What a morning in America,’” Grossman said, taking small liberties with the town motto, “What a glorious morning for America,” scripted in the town seal that adorned his podium. “What a glorious morning here in Lexington, a perfect day, a beautiful day for a new beginning.”  The other officials felt the same way. They were here for a groundbreaking ceremony to at Estabrook Elementary School, marking the …

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mjsa1956

8:06 pm on Friday, October 19, 2012

Very strange, but not surprising.   more ›

Patch Facts

Five Things: A Groundbreaking Development at Estabrook

A quick look at what you need to see, do and know today in Lexington.

1. Estabrook Groundbreaking: A groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. this morning at Estabrook Elementary School. Superintendent of Schools Paul Ash will be the master of ceremonies, while featured speakers include local officials and representatives from the MSBA. 2. Early Education Night: LexFUN!, Lexington’s five and under network, will host its annual Early Education Open House -- formerly known as Nursery School Night -- from 7 to 9 p.m. at Cary Hall. 3. Today in Public Meetings: According to the town website, public meetings posted for today include LexHAB at 7 a.m. at 4 Militia Drive, the Economic Development Advisory Committee at 8 a.m. at Cary Hall, the Water and Sewer Abatement Board at 4:30 p.m. at the DPW Building, …

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Patch Facts

Five Things: William Diamond Jr. Open House, Selectmen and More

A quick look at what you need to see, do and know today in Lexington.

1. Fife & Drum Corps - New Member Open House: From 7 to 8 p.m. tonight at Hancock United Church of Christ, the William Diamond Jr. Fife and Drum Corps. Young people between ages 8 and 18 are welcome to join, and the experiences include learning to play the fife or drum, marking in parades and participating in unique events.  2. BOS Meeting: The Board of Selectmen are scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. tonight at the Town Office Building, and its agenda includes voting the fiscal 2013 water/sewer rates, a Child Safety Zone presentation, an update on the Estabrook School budget and a review of fiscal 2014 capital projects. 3. Third Middlesex Candidates at LWV Forum: Lexington Democrat Mike Barrett and Sandi Martinez, a Chelmsford Republican, the …

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Week in Review: April 1 to April 7

A look back at the week that was in Lexington.

Annual Town Meeting and unfortunate business news made headlines this week in Lexington.  But things started out on a light note, with a neat photo gallery from a Sunday afternoon April Fool’s stunt that saw colonial militia men and an inflatable tank stand against Redcoat re-enactors in a Patriots’ Day practice run on the Battle Green. On Monday night, a special Town Meeting held within annual Town Meeting approved a funding for a new Estabrook Elementary School. Later that night, Town Meeting also approved the assessment for Minuteman High School. On Wednesday, annual Town Meeting approved a more than $150 million operating budget for fiscal 2013 and worked through the first three Community Preservation Act projects, but the bulk of …

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A Status Update on Annual Town Meeting

A look at what's happened so far and what's still ahead for Lexington's 2012 annual Town Meeting.

With four nights down and at least as many to go, annual Town Meeting has put the operating budget to bed, approved funding for a new Estabrook School in a April 2 special Town Meeting, and voted to allow residential uses within the Lexington Center Business District. But there is still much business ahead, including a citizen’s petition seeking a school bus subsidy and a controversial zoning amendment to allow redevelopment of the Dana Home and an adjacent property as a hotel and restaurant. On Wednesday, April 4, Town Meeting approved a more than $150 million operating budget for fiscal 2013, as well as the first three CPA projects, leaving another nine Community Preservation Committee requests for the start of the next session, on …

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Special Town Meeting Says Yes to Estabrook

By unanimous voice vote, an April 2 special Town Meeting approved a new Estabrook School building project with a few moving parts and potential to earn LEED Silver certification and 37 percent reimbursement from the MSBA.

The Lexington Public Schools are one step closer to making polychlorinated biphenyls a part of Estabrook Elementary School’s past. A special Town Meeting on Monday, April 2, approved funding for a new Estabrook School, which landed on the fast track to new construction following the discovery of elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at the school at the start of the 2010-2011 school year. The project was previously approved through a debt exclusion vote at a special town election in January and, just last week, got the nod from the Massachusetts School Building Authority to advance planning into the project scope and budget phase. On Monday, Town Meeting unanimously approved an appropriation of $40,792,248 for the …

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: April 2

Town Meeting, a solar talk, autism awareness and more today in Lexington.

1. Estabrook's Special Town Meeting Tonight: A special Town Meeting tonight will vote on appropriating almost $41 million for a new Estabrook Elementary School. Lexington voters hit the polls in January to approve an override, and the Massachusetts School Building Authority voted last Wednesday to advance planning into the project scope and budget phase. MSBA could fund a little more than $12 million of the approximately $41 million project cost. 2. More Town Meeting Talk: Although annual Town Meeting kicked off last week, the budgetary business had to wait until this week, as town bylaws stipulate it cannot be taken up until four weeks after being delivered to Town Meeting members. As such, today, April 2, is the first day it can be acted…

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