Page 12 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • July 25, 2012 Area Waldwick’s school officials broke ground last week at the district’s Traphagen School. The project is part of a larger upgrade at Traphagen and Crescent schools with the goal of implementing all-day kindergarten in the fall of 2013. “We’re so excited to finally be getting all-day kindergarten. It’s been a board objective for so many years, and it’s finally coming to fruition,” said board President Patty Levine. District officials said an all-day kindergarten program will allow the district to meet all of the required core curriculum and content standards, while also allowing the children to reap the social benefits of kindergarten. Three kindergarten classes will be housed in each building. At present, more than 70 percent of the state’s school districts offer all-day kindergarten. In June, the board of education awarded Waldwick to have all-day kindergarten program the construction bid to Stone Creek, Inc. of Lodi. Stone Creek’s aggregate proposal of $1,569,690 will allow the district to pursue all of the alternate projects it had planned at both schools. The district plans to use existing building funds, improvement funds, and capital improvement funds to cover the cost of the project. Plans call for the addition of one new classroom at an existing pod at the Traphagen School’s California-style campus, which contains multiple building units. The pod being eyed for the addition now houses two kindergarten classes. Additional space will be opened up at Crescent School, where a storage area and a classroom that is not currently up to code for kindergarteners will be converted for all-day kindergarten. One of the modifications required at Crescent School involves the addition of a bathroom. Pictured breaking ground for the Traphagen School addition are, from left: Business Administrator John Griffin, trustees Martha Walsh, Joseph Orlak and Daniel Marro; Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patricia Raupers, Traphagen Principal Robert Sileo, Board President Patty Levine, and trustees Dominic Novelli and Claire McLafferty. The project will include a new storage building on the Traphagen campus so existing storage space can be taken over and used for instruction, and the addition of canopies to cover pathways between the buildings at Traphagen. In addition, an old kitchen at Crescent School will be renovated as office space to replace the office that is being converted into a bathroom. Bathrooms are required in kindergarten classrooms. The project will also include the renovation of a bathroom at Crescent that is in need of an upgrade. Renovations at Crescent School are expected to be completed by the start of school in September. Interior work at Traphagen will be done by December, with an anticipated spring, 2013 completion date for the entire project, according to Levine.