Press release from Washington Township Public Schools
Gasps of delight went up from Chestnut Ridge Middle School students as they first entered the school’s gymnasium on Nov. 14. In addition to the normal glee that physical education class brings for most students on any given school day, a beautiful and recently installed, cushioned gym floor was a welcomed sight for students who have not have access to the facility this school year.
A frozen pipe that burst in the boys’ locker room during the previous school year caused extensive flooding and irreparable damage to the school’s original gym floor, resulting in warping, buckling wood that was not only an eyesore, but a safety risk as well. Well over 20,000 middle school students, and thousands of parks and recreation participants, had enjoyed the floor since the school’s construction in 1989.
Following the bid process, work began to remove the old surface, and North Eastern Hardwood Floors from West Berlin, painstakingly installed the new floor plank-by-plank. In the interim, the school’s five physical education teachers improvised with lessons, spending a lot of time outside engaging in physical education activities and fitness walking in the halls during the fall months.
“Crews began work in the summer to remove all the floor boards, remove the bleachers from the walls, level all the concrete,” said principal Jim Barnes, who snagged a piece of the original floor as a sentimental and historical keepsake from the site that stages so many of the school’s assemblies and functions. “Once the materials arrived on site, the crew began installing the floor board-by-board, painting the lines, staining, varnishing and curing. It’s been a long process since the summer.
“We’re excited to be back in the gym,” he said. “Our students have been waiting for this day since the beginning of the year. Our physical education teachers have been outstanding and extremely flexible throughout this process. This is a big day for us, to have everyone participating fully in physical education again. We’re very happy.”
