Things rounding into shape at Lincoln High
Construction progress continues; new assistant principal named
LINCOLN — With the new school year about to begin after Labor Day, the School Committee, on Thursday, moved to name a new assistant principal at the high school to help the year get off to a good start.
The appointment of Shivali Finkelstein, an assistant principal at South Kingstown High School, to the local post came following her recommendation for the job by School Superintendent Lawrence Filippelli.
“Shivali comes to us with a couple of years experience as an assistant principal,” Filippelli said while offering his recommendation to the members present. “She has done some pretty amazing work in her time at South Kingstown as an assistant principal responsible for not only student discipline but also curriculum and instruction and 504 plans,” Fillippelli said.
“She was the unanimous choice of the interview committee by far and we think she is going to be a perfect fit at Lincoln High School,” the superintendent added.
“Her energy, her enthusiasm, her personality, I think are going to make a very cohesive team there,” Filippelli said before the members accepted his recommendation with a unanimous vote by members Joseph Goho, chair; Kristen Donabedian, Staci Rapko Bruckner, Mary Anne Roll and William J. McManus. Members Julie Zito and John Picozzi were absent.
“Welcome to Lincoln,” Goho told Finkelstein as she listened to the vote from the audience.
High School Principal Robert Mezzanotte, himself a recent arrival at the school following service in South Kingstown, later announced Finkelstein’s selection in a school social media posting.
“I am thrilled to announce that Ms. Shivali Finkelstein has been appointed as the new Assistant Principal at Lincoln High School. Shivali is a tremendous educational leader who will be an outstanding addition to our administrative team!” Mezzanotte said.
Filippelli also offered a posting
on the appointment.
“Congratulations to Shivali Finkelstein!! She has been appointed as the new Asst. Principal at LHS tonight! We are so excited to welcome you to our dynamic administration team and supportive district!” he said.
The School Committee also heard an update on the progress of the town’s $59.8 million high school renovation and improvement project and what students might find when they arrive at the school.
Filippelli noted that Wednesday’s rainstorms had cause a bit of a “hiccup” with the preparations for the start of school when some water from open areas of the building leaked on wood and other materials in the construction zone.
“I sent the committee an email on that,” Filippelli said while explaining he had toured the building along with other school and construction team officials on Wednesday.
The project’s general contractor, Gilbane Building Co., “is working on fixing that and doing a cleanup and replacing and all the boards that got wet so there will not be any mold issues or anything like that,” Filippelli said.
Paving was scheduled for the new roadway behind the school, and that should be ready for use by buses over the weekend, he added.
The high school’s Class of 2023 will be arriving for the Lions Roar welcome party at the school on Tuesday, and Gilbane is planning on “having the site cleaned up and ready for the Lions Roar on Tuesday evening,” Filippelli said.
Goho, who also visited the high school on Wednesday, said he has been told by Assistant Superintendent Kevin McNamara what students could expect when they arrive for the new school year.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be a good thing or disappointing, but there will be no change to what they experienced when they left,” he said.
“So the setup of the high school, the traffic pattern, which was in really good shape last year, and any disruptions to teaching and learning, were severely minimized,” he said. “So the good news is that structure and that process and those procedures remain in place even as the phases of the project go forward. There is no change to that,” Goho said. “So kids are not going to walk into the school and not know where to go because there is a new configuration, which in my mind is a good thing, and project is proceeding along,” he said.