On Tuesday April 28, 2015, Cinnaminson High School took a large step into the future. On this day, faculty, staff, select students, and an assortment of people tied to the CHS Renovation Project and Cinnaminson community gathered on the grounds of the future gym for the ceremony to commemorate the start of construction.

The function could not have been held on a better day, with bright sunshine and a refreshing breeze. Beginning at roughly 5:30, Mrs. Llewellyn began by addressing the crowd and describing the occasion. The crowd was then serenaded by the CHS Chamber Choir as they sang the National Anthem following the recitation of the Pledge.

Speeches were given by Mrs. Llewellyn, Student Council President Dominic Gigliotti, Board of Education President Jean Cohen and, of course, Dr. Salvatore Illuzzi, Superintendent of Schools. All the speeches had  a consistent theme: the construction project was long overdue.

The idea for a renovation had been in the works of the district for quite some time now. The chatter to build on the high school had been around for at least 16 years. As past Vice President of the Board of Education, Jackie Plunkett shared, “It definitely needed to be done. We went over all different designs and made decisions on what we thought was financially appropriate to bring to the township, and after looking at everything this is the plan we came up with.” Mrs. Plunkett has been on the board for 16 years, and during 15 of them there was talk of a school construction revamp.

Ideas were debated on construction for years, and one of them was even to completely rebuild the school, but then a more practical solution was devised.

As Illuzzi believes, “The date that is important to me will stand to be December 20, 2011. That is a date when another board decided to star this project. They decided on a design and took a vote.” The vote was unanimous and it began the eligibility for designs to become reality.

Years later, these designs became even closer to reality. The day that Mrs. Llewellyn would remember as an important day: September 3o, 2014. That is the day that, “many of us gathered in the municipal building and waited as the votes came in regarding the district capital project.” Mrs. Llewellyn continued. “I came back from my second maternity leave in 2006, walked into one of the central office’s and saw these new plans, I said, ‘what’s this going on here? Are we getting a new building?’ and then it went on hold again and went on hold again and went on hold again and finally in 2011 that’s when the board finally approved the plans.”

CMS Principal, Mr. Goulburn, can attest to Mrs. Llewellyn’s testimony, as he explained how, “When I was at the High School as the assistant principal, within the very first week I heard about these plans, about this big construction project and that was in 2009. Now we’re in 2015 and it seems like it’s finally about to get started so it is obviously very exciting.”

Although it has been an arduous process, the school is eventually ready to move on. According to Mrs. Llewellyn, there are many thank yous that need to be delivered. “The leadership of this district never lost its passion for this project. They never gave up their pursuits… and I thank them for their commitment to this project,” Mrs. Llewellyn said.

Illuzzi also had his own personal supporters to thank, specifically those who served on the Board of Education throughout the duration of the past decade. The night of the groundbreaking ceremony was filled with many stories of how things got where they did, and reflections back into what the current school has given us.

Student Council President, senior Dom Gigliotti gave his speech as a thank you to the school, rather than to individuals, “50 years ago the building behind us was constructed,” Gigliotti continued, “In the beginning no one knew what this building would bring, both academically and athletically. As we stand here today we know exactly what the school has done.” Gigliotti went on to describe the many achievements of CHS, such as it producing very high SAT scores and having high graduation counts as well. While getting nostalgic, Gigliotti even went on to label CHS as his second home, yet continued to say, “That like many places, it’s about time CHS gets a make-over.”

New and safer security systems will be added for the protection of the students and faculty.  To further the education at CHS, there will be an addition of more science labs, a second level hallway that connects, and, of course, a new gym where future athletes will represent their Pirate Pride. The groundbreaking ceremony represented the start of construction that will transform the high school to its new standings causing heads to turn.

Concluding his speech, Gigliotti looked forward by saying, “I can only hope that the new CHS will provide my younger brother and future generations of high-schoolers with the same experience I have had. Today is not an end, rather it’s a beginning—it’s the beginning of a new era at Cinnaminson High School.”

Current Spanish teacher, and CHS alumnae, Ms. Adleman saw this ceremony as, “coming full circle, because I’m a 1971 graduate of Cinnaminson High School so it’ll be exciting for me to experience a brand new building with a bit of nostalgia too. So it’s a special place for me.”

The main idea expressed throughout the entire night was that this was a much-needed improvement to the school. It also symbolized a new beginning for CHS. Throughout the assorted speeches and candid conversation, many reflected on what CHS has given them, and the journey it took to get to the ceremony that night. While looking back on what the school has done, it is just as exciting to look forward.

Mrs. Cohen, President of the Board of Education, talked about the achievements that the Board founded 50 years ago when they created the four schools within the district (which continue to serve students today), “We acknowledge their legacy, and at the same time continue to establish our own.” Said Cohen, looking to shape another legacy.

In between the speeches, the symbolic groundbreaking ceremony occurred. It included leaders from each grade to plant their own shovel into a dirt pile up front. The students that represented their graduating years were class presidents, 8th grader Tim Clements, freshman Larry Michalski, sophomore Anne O’Malley, junior Anna Saginario, and seniors Sydney Zarilli and Gigliotti.

The select few were honored with a plaque which held a small golden shovel that commemorated the event.

This symbolic notion demonstrated how the next generation of students was to be involved in the shaping and building of their new school. Clements, who will be a freshman once the gym is built, is, “really excited since we’re gonna be one of the first classes to go in it; the new gym and all the new science labs and stuff and I’m really excited.” Since next year will be Clements first year in High School, he will receive a fresh start. Along with himself, Clements views the school as gaining a clean slate as well, “It just meant a whole new generation of kids coming into the high school. It’s been fifty years and the building’s barely changed, now it’s gonna be all new, so it’s a new chapter.”

Mark Heenan, who is one of the general contractors, is very excited to start working on the gymnasium. He viewed the recent groundbreaking ceremony as a work bell, meaning, “It’s time to get started [because] all eyes are on us.” Heenan works with Hessert Construction, the company that will be working closely in the gym for the next year.

Heenan enjoys building gyms, the same reason that students like to be part of a club or a team; it means something to be a part of something. “There’s something you get in a gym, whether it’s the state championship, or something you get to build a place where someone has a real memory of something that impacts on their life,” Heenan shared.

This is not Heenan’s first time working on a school gymnasium, in fact he is even working with some familiar faces, which will help the job to run smoothly, “(Bob) Garrison, the architect, is just great at these schools. We’ve done a number of schools with him over the past 20 years” he stated.

Bob Garrison was contacted about being the architect early on in the building plans (circa 2006), and he couldn’t be any more ready to start.  At the ceremony, “We talked about a building, we talked about bricks, we talked about mortar, glass, chalkboards, desks; all very important, and that’s why we’re here,” Illuzzi said in a speech. He then paused a moment and continued, “Let’s not forget the real reason that we are here together today. The real reason is that we have a vision…” and that vision is for the future students and educators of this district.

Garrison, along with Illuzzi, has a similar view about the construction of the school. “As the (Dr. Illuzzi) alluded to, it’s a culmination of the communities effort to improve not only the schools, but as he said the value, the culture, the climate of education in this district. It was a dream that became a reality from 2011 to today. But what I’ve always admired in this community is the value in education.” He continued to say that, “Buildings are buildings, [but] the people, the dedication to education… That is what makes a community. The dedication people have to helping their assets (schools) stay afloat is and preserve them is, “a noble cause,” Garrison shared.

Director of Facilities, Mark Tindall reassured worried residents that his role will be to, “keep an eye on everything and basically make sure we, the Cinnaminson residents, get what we paid for. We’ll make sure the end product is what Cinnaminson voters asked for.”

The construction project started as talk of a referendum, then talk of reconstruction, and talk is finally becoming reality. As the project draws nearer, there has been chatter in the halls worrying about parking and gym class disruption. According to Mrs. Llewellyn, gym classes will not be disrupted.  Also, since the small gym will not be able to be used by students, during the winter, there will be a large amount of students in health, and the majority of classes later in the year will be spent outside. This will keep gym classes functioning regularly. The small gym will be transformed into the offices of the main office and guidance department, which may make finding them easier to some newer students.

The situation of parking has also been resolved. During the height of the day, Mr. Gorman counted the amount of spots that were in use in proportion to the amount available and he concluded that parking will not be a problem. Students that believe parking will be a problem and are worried about it, may easily take the bus to school as other students do. The alternative to having open parking all around the school is to stop construction on a new gym and be stuck with the smallest gym in Burlington County.

“I think the first thing that everyone will notice is the lack of parking as a result of the project. They should realize that this is just a temporary glitch and they should realize that a year [or so] from now, they will have (the students and the staff) a new school and in the case of why we’re here a tonight, a new stadium,” Illuzzi explained. Something that will change due to parking areas is that students may have to arrive a few minutes earlier to school in order to ensure they are not late to homeroom due to the extended walk from the parking lots.

It would be better to deal with the temporary parking situation and just think ahead to the outcome that, “we will go from the home of the smallest gym in Burlington County, to a facility with a collegiate-style gymnasium that seats over 1,000 fans,” Mrs. Llewellyn proudly announced.

After the ceremony refreshments were offered in the library, where all the dedicated workers that made the new construction possible lounged together and celebrated their overdue victory.