By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

With the final touches of paint drying on the walls and the din of construction mostly silent at Glen Lake School, district officials say they’re excited for the building’s imminent opening.

“This has been over 10 years in the works,” said school board Chairman Keith Allard. “We’re excited to see Goffstown removed from the very small list of school districts in the country without a public kindergarten.”

Construction on the building began last December, with Pro Con Inc. of Manchester serving as construction manager, and Frank Marinace Architects of Hampton as the architect for the $2.8 million project.

The school is located on Elm Street overlooking the Glen Lake recreation area, and was named through suggestions from the community.

One recent morning, Allard and school board member Scott Gross led a tour of the 16,000-square-foot building, which has 10 classrooms along with administrative offices.

Those offices, located near the front entrance, could be used for future classroom space, Gross said. The adult bathroom near the offices is the largest restroom in the Goffstown School District, he added.

With all major construction complete, most of the work remaining consists of cleaning and other maintenance work, Allard said.

Longtime Maple Avenue Elementary School custodian Leo Labrecque was in the school cleaning the floor during the tour. Winner of the 1996 New Hampshire Custodian of the Year Award, Labrecque will serve as head custodian at Glen Lake School, Allard said.

Technological aspects of the building are also nearing completion, said Goffstown School District Director of Technology Gary Girolimon.

Each classroom of the school will be equipped with wireless Internet access, LCD ceiling-mounted projectors, student computers and wireless laptops for teachers, and a computerized telephone system connected throughout the building.

“In matters of technology, we’ve turned Goffstown into a model school district,” Girolimon said while finalizing the school’s computer connections in the building’s server room.

Goffstown High School and Mountain View Middle School are also outfitted with wireless access, while Maple Avenue and Bartlett elementary schools should be retrofitted for access by the end of October, Girolimon said.

“We be-lieve this is part of preparing students for the modern workplace,” Allard said. “There’s virtually no job a student can get today that won’t involve touching a computer keyboard.”

Leslie Doster, who will be Glen Lake’s inaugural principal, was also on hand before the school’s opening date. Doster served as assistant principal at Maple Avenue for seven years. She has also taught preschool, kindergarten, first through fifth grades and has worked as an early childhood educator in SAU 19.

“This is an exciting time for the Goffstown School District,” Doster said. “What matters the most is what happens on Oct. 2.”

Glen Lake School will house the district’s first public kindergarten program as well as an integrated preschool program.

The kindergarten will run half-day programs in two sessions, with morning classes from 8:40 to 11:10 a.m. and afternoon classes from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

The integrated preschool program will be split evenly between special needs students and role-model students in classes for 3- and 4-year-old students.