Editor's Note: This article was written by Chester Cornacchia and posted by Paul Singley.
NAUGATUCK -- Students from St. Francis/St. Hedwig School toured the Parish Hall and saw ongoing restoration efforts recently. They discussed the project with local building officials, contractors and the architect.
In August, the St Francis Parish Hall was destroyed in a rainstorm that flooded the interior.
"Today marks a milestone in which we begin to see the rebuilding of your parish hall," the Rev. John Kuzhikottayil said. "We want you to understand that many people with many talents are working hard to restore this hall for you."
Students from kindergarten through eighth grade toured the job site and were additionally lectured on the building code, fire code and architectural considerations by a Naugatuck Building Inspector, local architect Earl Lindgren, Principal John Salatto, Ph. D., and Father Kuzhikottayil.
It's important for our students to understand that many facets of our community are involved in rebuilding this space, students will tour an additional two times before the end of the school year and will be engaged in the construction and design process. Teachers will additionally incorporate some construction and design themes into their planned curriculum to provide a relevant learning example.
"We've found an educational opportunity right here on our parish grounds in which to engage our students and have their teachers reinforce the enormous challenges involved in the building process," Salatto said.
Often though what appears to be a tragic or disastrous event, a rebirth takes place, in some regards the flood was a blessing in disguise for the parish. The rebuild, while time consuming, will ultimately result in a newer and better space for all to enjoy.
Lindgren told students: "I'm the architect and I get the fun job of drawing and designing your new hall. Architecture involves deep study of the space and the needs and providing the best solutions and design to match the space to the needs. My job is to work with the contractors, building department, fire marshall, and engineers to design the safest, code compliant space that works best for your needs."
Students were also offered a question and answer session with officials before returning to class.
St Francis/St. Hedwig School is a private Catholic, coeducational school with 225 students grades Kindergarten through Eighth Grade.
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