Candlewood Lake Elementary School Project

08/03/2023

Look at our gorgeous new bridges!

07/28/2023

So you can get an idea of the interior as well, here are the June progress photos shared at last week’s BOE meeting and the unmarked ones taken TODAY!

As a reminder, we will be transitioning away from this page and incorporating CLES communications and updates to the main Brookfield Public Schools website and page. You can also stay tuned by checking out the updates provided at each BOE and MBC meeting.

07/27/2023

One last flyover for this page…

As a reminder, we will be transitioning away from this page and incorporating CLES communications and updates to the main Brookfield Public Schools website and page. You can also stay tuned by checking out the updates provided at each BOE and MBC meeting.

07/26/2023

Demolition has accelerated to make room for the nearly 300 parking spaces needed for CLES faculty, staff, and visitors. We will also have over 20 busses lined up for arrival and dismissal so preparation of the north and south driveways as well as the widening of Candlewood Lake Road for turning lanes has begun!
Please note, by the end of this month, we will be transitioning away from this page and incorporating CLES communications and updates to the main Brookfield Public Schools website and page. You can also stay tuned by checking out the updates provided at each BOE and MBC meeting.

07/18/2023

Demolition of HHES is well underway and crews are making progress with excavation for the new driveways and parking!

Please note, by the end of this month, we will be transitioning away from this page and incorporating CLES communications and updates to the main Brookfield Public Schools website and page. You can also stay tuned by checking out the updates provided at each BOE and MBC meeting.

07/11/2023

Teams are working hard inside and out to complete installations, beautify the site, and prepare for teachers and students!

Please note, not all site work and landscaping will be complete when students return this September.

Also note, by the end of this month, we will be transitioning away from this page and incorporating CLES communications and updates to the main Brookfield Public Schools website and page. You can also stay tuned by checking out the updates provided at each BOE and MBC meeting.

02/23/2023

The goal of the new school project has always been to show our community what a building can be and how it can better our students and their well-being through proper planning and design. We are excited to share and celebrate this experience with everyone!

CLES MISSION AND BELIEFS

At Candlewood Lake Elementary School, we are a student-centered community dedicated to challenging, supporting, and empowering all learners to contribute positively to our world.

To achieve our Mission:

- We create a safe and welcoming climate so everyone can develop academically, socially, and emotionally.

- We build collaborative partnerships with parents and guardians as they are a child’s first teacher.

- We ensure that the curriculum promotes critical thinking and creative problem solving allowing all learners to persevere and find their own way.

- We provide meaningful and engaging learning opportunities so all students feel connected and are active, motivated learners.

- We honor everyone’s progress and celebrate growth as well as achievement.

OUR NEW SCHOOL - ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

“No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other.”

-Frank Lloyd Wright


The new Candlewood Lake Elementary School should be a celebration of Brookfield and Community. The design and concepts of the school are intended to relate and live within the natural outdoors to allow the community to experience the building in more ways than just being a school. Materials were selected as a nod to our Town such as the heavy timbers, Connecticut field stone, and ironspot brick. Restoration of streams and walking bridges adorn the site to help create a welcoming and inviting environment for our students and community. Throughout the school, images from town such as the Happy Landings windmill, birch tree forest, Hop Brook, and Lake Lillinonah are highlighted along with boulders and other natural materials. The aesthetics are heightened in various ways such as the Still River terrazzo floor at the main entry and tree and canopy forests in the Lower Cafeteria and Gross Motor Skills room.

The individual classroom wings are themed to represent various ecosystems as follows:

PreK- Ponds

K- Forests

1- Oceans

2- Grasslands

3- Rainforests

4- Reefs

5- Tundra

Graphic wall panels and highlighted sculptures replace institutional looking hallways as natural light floods the entire building creating support for an enhancement of human health and general well-being.

Highly engaging instructional approaches are enhanced through the design and implementation of various technologies and spaces within the new school.

From outdoor amphitheater classrooms, breakout spaces, interactive wall and floor displays, and by providing flexible spaces for activities and teaching methods; the only limit will be our own.

01/07/2023

With the expected arrival of flooring materials in February, finishing CLES can really pick up speed. Though the building itself will be completed by the end of this school year, the vacated HHES building will still be there when students arrive for the first day of school in the fall. Parents and residents should also expect a lot of site work to continue into the late fall and spring of 2024.

This abbreviated timeline notes completion dates for most remaining items and tasks.

12/21/2022

O&G has officially reported the timeline for the completion of the CLES building, including flooring. The new building will not be completed until late May or early June. Given this confirmation, with just a matter of weeks remaining in the school year upon its completion, there will no longer be a phased-in approach where HHES students and staff would be moving into CLES during this school year. Instead, there will be a single move into CLES at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year.

The GOOD NEWS is that this provides us with the opportunity to become one school community together, at the same time, as originally envisioned for CLES.

Here you can watch the video of O&G’s report at the BOE meeting last week. (@47:15)

Wednesday, December 14, 2022Location: BHS Library Media Center

11/23/2022

We might not know when our terrazzo floors (see Main Entrance Hall photos) can be installed but the rest of the building is making significant progress. Many of the architectural design elements are becoming visible!

10/20/2022

We are so disappointed to be reporting another delay in the move to CLES 😢 But as we’ve heard before, someday we won’t remember if CLES opened 6 months late or 10 months late but we would surely remember if if wasn’t done right.

We do not want to move students and staff into a building we can’t be completely excited about so we will remain solution-oriented and do this move when we know it can be done right.

Since we do not have a committed timeline for flooring (which is the critical aspect delaying our move), we cannot yet report the confirmed move in date. Nevertheless, you can be assured everyone involved is equally motivated to make that as soon as possible, hopefully this spring.

The link shown in the image below is copied here and will showcase the fully detailed discussion at last night’s BOE meeting. https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=3574&v=5BY4aQdewyU&feature=youtu.be

10/03/2022

CLES construction consists of 6 major areas, referenced as areas A-F in official documents. You might think of these as sub-projects within the whole as construction progress and tasks within each is not uniform. Construction started in area A on the north side of the building and moved south, not pausing for other areas to catch up.

As such, you’ll see varying degrees of completion depending on which area of the building you’re in. Here’s a updated accounting of what you might see using more practical labels for each area as well as a few photos.

DOWNSTAIRS
Pre-K wing: Above ceiling mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) work ongoing as well as interior framing

1st grade wing: All of MEP and framing is done and they’re moving onto sheet rocking

2nd grade wing: Installation the ceiling grid frames that hold the drop ceiling panels is ongoing

UPSTAIRS
3rd grade wing: Bathroom tile installation is ongoing

4th grade wing: Painting is ongoing

5th grade wing: Installation of drop ceiling panels is ongoing

Gymnasium/Offices: MEP and interior framing is complete. Sheetrocking will be next

Main Cafeteria: Walk in fridge and freezer were installed

Multipurpose Room: Sheetrock taping is ongoing and the stage has been faced with brick

Exterior: Brickwork on the right side on the building is mostly complete, rooftop equipment piping and duct connections are ongoing

Other: Fiber optic service installation set to begin this month and there will be a small wares package (everything from clocks to flags to waste bins) that will soon be compiled for review