GUILDERLAND — A red ribbon stretched across the new entrance to Farnsworth Middle School last Thursday evening as two score gathered to celebrate the completion of the school’s $20 million expansion project.
Jennifer Holliday directed a quartet of middle-school saxophonists as they played "The Star-Spangled Banner" while the American flag waved overhead in the gathering twilight.
A warm fall breeze ruffled the sheet music. Holliday added her grip to the clothespins on the music stand as the quartet played the light and airy "Colonel Bogey March."

School-board members and school officials beamed from the front steps that served as a stage. The project had been four years in the making.
The school’s new principal, Mary Summermatter, thanked staff, from the custodians to her administrative team. Teachers and staff, she said, had "endured strange noises and smells...and endless punch lists." But, she said, they "have kept our students moving forward."

School board President Gene Danese called it a great day for a beginning. The board of education, he said, has spent a great deal of time discussing Guilderland’s culture.
He then proceeded to give his definition. "What does it hold dear"" he asked of Guilderland. Guilderland, Danese said, values its educational programs, and its educational facilities are one expression of those values.

He concluded that he was proud to be a member of such a culture.

Superintendent Gregory Aidala then recognized a long list of contributors to the middle-school project. Among those he introduced were: architects Marty Weber and Hannah Panek of Dodge Chamberlin Luzine Weber Associates; project manager Shows Leary; contractor Bast Hatfield; and Assistant Superintendent for Business Neil Sanders.
In order to help school start on time, Aidala said, Sanders "rolled up his sleeves...and pitched in to move furniture."
Aidala called the ceremony a "momentous occasion in the history of the school community" and reviewed the history of the renovation project. Voters approved the $19.75 million project in October of 2001 by a two-to-one margin to renovate and add to "the aging 30-year-old building," he said.
Stating the district was fortunate to have community support, Aidala said Farnsworth had been "a model of excellence for middle-level education throughout New York State."

He highlighted some of the project's improvements:

— Space was increased by about 20 percent or 44,500 square feet;

— Eighteen classrooms were added for a fourth school-within-a-school named Seneca House;

— A new front entrance improves security;

— Science laboratories and technology areas have been upgraded;

— A new music room has been built;

— A new gym and locker rooms have been added;

— Improvements have been made to the cafetorium, including upgrading its theatrical features; and

— More parking space has been added.
In short, the superintendent said, the school has been expanded and given a "much-needed facelift."
Aidala concluded by quoting Louis L’Amour, the author of American westerns: "There will come a time when you believe everything is finished; that will be the beginning."

The real challenge, Aidala said, is to teach a rigorous curriculum so students can achieve higher standards and become life-long learners. The school, he said, needs to support creative thinking and intellectual development while providing a safe and caring environment for students to learn in.
"As Louis L’Amour reminds us," said Aidala, "this is only the beginning; the rest is up to us."

Gabriella Formica, president of Farnsworth’s student council, spoke last.
Students appreciate the improvements, she said. Seneca House will "mix up school life and make it more interesting," she said. The new science labs help students learn more faster, said Formica.
"I also personally know that the rolling chairs have been a big hit with the kids," she quipped as light laughter rippled over the crowd.

With that, the red ribbon was ceremoniously cut on one side of the podium, and then again on the other side, after which the crowd filtered inside for refreshments and student-guided tours of the school.