On Friday, May 23, LM celebrated the official commencement of the construction of the new high school with a groundbreaking ceremony.
“The event serves as an opportunity for all those who helped to make the project a reality to come together and celebrate the symbolic launch of a new era for LM,” said Director of School and Community Relations, Doug Young.
The groundbreaking was led by Young, along with Superintendent Dr. Jamie Savedoff, Principal Norton Seaman, 12th Grade Assistant Principal Sean Hughes, Student Body President Sam Helfaer, upcoming Student Body President John Lundy, construction board members, and the student council. Congressman Jim Gerlach, as well as community members, also attended the event.
“The ceremony was a gesture to acknowledge all the work and contributions of many people and committees,” said Seaman. “The groundbreaking followed a program that included the national anthem, a brief history of the school, as well as speeches delivered by architects, the Superintendent, project managers, students, administrators, and other dignitaries.”
The entire LM community was invited to attend the one-hour ceremony, which featured the LM Jazz Band, directed by Andrew Neu, and the LMHS Band, directed by Aaron Datsko. Senior Samantha van Adelsberg sang the “Star Spangled Banner”, and also performed “Start of Something New” from High School Musical in a duet with sophomore Matthew Ciarrochi to commemorate the event.
The groundbreaking included the presentation of a time capsule, which will be buried by the new school building following the completion of construction.
“The time capsule represents the memories and history of the old building, so that in the future, the life of LM will never be lost and students can see the whole history of this school,” said the presenter of the time capsule and future Sergeant at Arms, Dan Saris. “The time capsule acts as a link to the past for alumni and soon to be graduates.”
The time capsule will hold a myriad of objects including a football jersey, lacrosse cleat, Players program, and copy of the “LM March.”
As a symbolic representation of the groundbreaking, “gold shovels were used to dig into a box of dirt,” said Hughes. “The shovels will eventually be placed in a trophy case located in the new school.”
DWKCB architects began the designs for the new high school in January 2005. These plans were implemented after a period of bid and award contracting during the fall of 2007. The building’s construction is predicted to last until May 2010, and students, teachres, and other faculty are expected to move in by September 2010.
“Even though I won’t be able to attend the new school, I’m excited for construction to start,” said junior Jake Eisenhard. “It’s cool that my younger brothers will be able to go to a new high school.”
The new building will include state of the art facilities including a natatorium, performance theatre, gymnasium, lecture room with tiered seating, library, and multi-media center. In addition to these cutting edge resources, the school will employ the use of ‘green’, or energy efficient, devices.
“I think that the new school will really improve the overall environment of the LM community,” said junior Sarah Perlman. “It will give future students a larger variety of extracurricular activities to try, and the extra space will come in handy for academic classes.”
“The groundbreaking represents many transitions,” said Hughes, the future principal of LM. “The current principal, Mr. Seaman, will retire and Student Body President Sam Helfaer will graduate at the end of this year.”
“I think the construction of the new building is a great thing for the entire community,” said Seaman. “I’m hoping to come back in when the school opens in a few years and see the cutting of the ribbon.”
By Samantha Hershman
Class of 2009
