Mesmerized by Mezzanine Madness

at Brookfield School

excerpts from writing by student correspondents Clare Johnson, Cordelia Johnson, Ben Koren and Patrick O'Donnell of the Brookfield Service Learning Project, in which Brookfield students with help from Norwich University students constructed a mezzanine to create more space in their school.

What's happening at the Brookfield School is "amezzing". The mezzanine in the Brookfield School gym is about 3/4s of the way done. The "mezz" is a balcony built in the attic space over the principal's office, and a 1-2 classroom, at the north end of the gym. It will free up the entire gym, now crowded with overflowing library, art and phys ed materials. That means that the school and the whole community will benefit. Now there will be a space big enough for town meetings, concerts and performances, and indoor sports.

 

Some of the neat things about the mezzanine are a hidden lighting system above the bookcases, a recessed stage and a lot of outlets for computers. The hand-painted tiles done by everyone in the school are a big favorite. They will decorate the stair risers and other spots. Some kids have good ideas for painting the ceiling. Funding for what we've done so far has come from the Vermont Commission on Community Service and Learning, the Randolph Regional School to Work Consortium, the citizens of Brookfield who voted funds at the 1997 town meeting, and many generous individuals and businesses, some of whom also donated valuable materials. The "mezz" still needs paint, carpet, a new railing and fine carpentry. To finish it, more money is needed. Fund raising is inevitable.

 

Every Friday afternoon since February the Norwich University students have taught Brookfield students about tools, and about building stairs, what risers and runners are (a runner has to be 11 inches long because some people have big feet), what walls are made of, and a lot about codes and regulations.

 

We also learned that plywood is popular and very strong, that clapboards and shingles protect the wood on houses from getting soggy, and that safety glass is strong because it has wires in the middle.

 

Also, a 2x4 is not 2 inches by 4 inches, and when you hammer a nail in diagonally the wood will get weak. We had a lot of fun playing games with the Norwich students about what they taught us.

On... the last Friday that the Norwich students came to the school, we thanked them and their architect/instructors from the Yestermorrow Design/Build School by giving them mezzanine t-shirts specially designed by Julia Pattison, mother of kindergartner Libby Pattison. We also gave them thank-you certificates and had an ice cream sundae party for them....

 

Then, on May 7, we had a career day at the school. Experts from fields related to the "mezz" construction project came to Brookfield to teach about their work, and what they need to know to do it. The people who came were general contractors Kevin Dunwoody and Larry Richburg; architects Alan Holt, the Executive Director of Yestermorrow, and Sharon Matthews, Dean of the Norwich U. Architecture School; flooring specialist Ken Smith from Smitty's; plumber Joel Parmalee; electricians Jim Rowley and Royal Laroque; painter Chuck Ferris; finish carpenter Dave Mascoveta; and Alice Wakefield talking about interior design .

 

The kids at Brookfield School enjoyed visiting with all the different people and learning about their trades.

Dave Mascoveta said you need coffee and donuts and a measuring tape to do his specialized work, and you also need to know how to read plans and do math, especially fractions.

 

Architect Alan Holt said the most important tools for an architect are eyes, ears and hands so that you can look, listen and touch. Kevin Dunwoody said a general contractor is basically an artist who also makes a lot of phone calls, and that one good thing about being one is that you can be your own boss. Some highlights of career day were crushing gummy bears with Dave Mascoveta to show how veneer is applied to plywood, learning about amperage and voltage with Jim Rowley, smoothing painters mud over sheet rock with Chuck Ferris, and passing around toilet valves with Joel Parmalee.

 

We are working hard to finish the "mezz" because we are planning to invite everyone to a big community celebration of this space on June 7. There will be lunch, and games, and our special t-shirts will be for sale. Mark your calendars!