WE CARE Miscoe Projects 2019-
 

DOORS- Painted 200 doors during the Summer’s of 2019, 2021 and 2022.  We were able to clean, prepare approximately 200 doors to accept 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of Scuffix paint.  Additionally, the trim for all of these doors (and transoms) were cleaned and prepped to accept 2 coats of paint as well.  All labor done through volunteerism and the leadership of Mike Neveux and Steven Aubut, 2 parents in the district that easily donated over 100 hours a piece in logistical planning, prep and painting. Funding came from WE CARE Miscoe, MURSD and Koopman Paint.

Benjamin Moore Colors for Each Hallway: Scuffix Satin*

5th front and ramp- Bedford Blue (1679)

5th Lower- Blue Spa (2052-40)

6th/7th- Clearspring Green (HC128)

8th- Raspberry truffle (2080-10)

Lobby Areas- Fiddlehead Green 2041-20)  (aka Miscoe Green)

*All extra door paint is stored in the WE CARE Miscoe area in the Bowling Alley.

SIGNS- Painted over 125+ signs in School- Dina Neveux, parent volunteer, has led this ongoing effort from 2019-2022.  She brainstormed a way to improve signage, tested methods, prepped all of the signs by cleaning and painting and utilized volunteers to paint the raised numbers and letters white.  The result is eye-catching, easy-to-read signage that matches the doors throughout the school.  Truly transforms the hallways making them look cohesive and current.

Teacher’s Lounge Refresh- Our very first project. Summer 2019  We wanted to let our teachers know that we genuinely cared about the conditions that they must work in. Our classrooms are in rough shape, so we wanted to make improvements to their Teachers lounge so it would be a more prideful, calming, get-away space for them.  Stacey Oliva, Interior Designer (residential)  and Michelle Rubin. Interior Design (commercial) provided the leadership.  We were able to plan out the space to improve function and aesthetics.  We added paint, a Student Art wall, new furniture for relaxing and small groups and plants helped to warm up the space. The kitchen area was improved.  The sink and counter was raised (it sat at a preschool level) and expanded for more space, new countertops and a larger sink was installed.  Better storage was created.  A new mural was added.  The kitchen area was stocked with additional Kuerig’s and supplies.  Inspirational signs were left on tables.

Landscaping Day- October 6, 2019.  Led by Laurie Holloway (8th Grade Science teachers) and two parents/local landscapers, Chris Collins and Bryan Lewinsky, this small team walked the grounds to assess areas for improvement.  We were able to identify a new location for the recycle dumpster to the rear of the school, push along a MURSD project to add much needed parking spots and determine new landscaping for existing areas.  We worked with Weston nurseries, who offered us 50% off all plants/trees and landscaping supplies, to pick out some new natural materials that would enhance the appearance of the school in the future.  On Oct. 6, 2019, we hosted a “WCM Landscaping Day”, publicized it through the districts distribution channels, on Facebook and in the Town Crier to invite citizens, parents, staff & students to join us for a day (or a few hours) to pitch in, plant, dig, help out!  Local gardening organizations and parents also donated plants to add to the landscaping.  We had over 100 people sign up.  Muffin House provided free food and beverage.  DD’s provided free beverage.

Student Lounge- Fall 2019 This multi-purpose space toggled between storage, overflow and academic use.  It was often cluttered and lacked pride.  Under the guidance of Stace Oliva and Michelle Rubin (interior designers), they questioned the administration/guidance office of how they would like to use this space.  Given the feedback, they created a new floor plan.  Based on design recommendations, Miscoe students (with the help of Gym Teacher Billy McInnis) painted the room a new soothing blue color, the windows were frosted to provide separation from the cafeteria and new furniture and decor was brought in to increase the aesthetics of the space.  It is now a more prideful and functional multi-purpose space used for lunch overflow, academics, small groups and an “escape” space for students who are struggling emotionally during their day. 

Trophy Case Improvements- 2021 Billy McInnis and Scott Glassman, our 2 athletic teachers, took on this project to improve the pridefulness of our Athletics Lobby.  They painted the old wooden cases, removed all materials to organize, added prideful logos and lettering and are currently reinstalling artifacts in a prideful way.  It was done in Miscoe Green to create a consistency with color scheme for our school.

Inspirational Mural in Cafeteria-  June 2019 Painted  by Troop Girls Scout Troop 64528, Upton.  With guidance from their troop leaders, 14 Girl Scouts planned the art work for the large rear wall in the cafeteria.  Their goal was to promote inclusiveness, opportunity, diversity and a celebration of individuality.  Their plan was approved by the principal and installed in June 2019.

Inspirational Murals for 6/7 Bathroom, Girls- Summer 2019 Led by Troop 12806. Mendon, Under the guidance of Troop leadership, the girls brainstormed and planned out inspirational messages and images to be painted on bathroom stalls and walls.  The result was an aesthetically pleasing, positively uplifting bathroom environment.  The stalls were preserved with polyurethane to protect against any vandalism.  As of 2022, the stalls and walls are exactly as they were when installed.

Inspirational Signs for 8th Bathroom, Girls- 2019 Led by Heather McCourt, Miscoe Teacher-  Heather planned out the inspirational messaging and images to make this space a place of positivity.  It was installed in the Summer of 2019.

SPED Office Makeover- Summer 2021. Led by Stacey Oliva, this project was sparked by a request from a Miscoe Guidance Counselor to improve the conference room where parents work with staff to determine a students accommodations to meet their special education requirements.  The conference room was combined with the Director/Asst. office space and felt cluttered and distracting.  The SPED staff worked with Stacey Oliva to talk through issues and goals of the space.  Stacey developed a floor plan that sought to separate office space from conference space.  It included plans for a calming color scheme, more prideful and functional furniture, a new floor plan and better work flow.  Volunteers completed all of the painting over Summer 2021 and the custodians at Miscoe moved all furniture into it’s new places  Color schemes were unified, plants were added.  The space is transformed and is conducive to focused productive meetings with parents as well as a positive working environment for SPED Staff. 

Women’s Locker Room Improvements- Summer 2019. Although more work needs to be done in this space, our improvement focus began with addressing storage issues.  The “old” space had rusty shelving that was neither prideful nor functional.  We began with cleaning out the space to determine what type of storage system the area could accommodate and what would work best.   Mark Machado, parent and carpenter hobbyist, stepped in and provided a vision for the area.  In his home workshop throughout the summer, he built and installed 9 solid oak cubbies for the women’s locker rooms as well as an additional bench and hanging storage unit.  This new “furniture” is well protected and set to stand the test of time.  We also replaced all of the changing stall curtains with new prideful “Miscoe” green and white curtains.  The space still needs further attention but it is without question a transformative improvement for function and pride of this space.

Men’s Locker Room Improvements- Summer 2019. This area at the rear of the school was in need of new storage and greater pride.  The defunct shower stall in this space is often used for storage of unneeded equipment in the school which detracts from the overall space.  We chose to address storage needs in the main locker area and Jeremy Stewart, MURSD parent and owner of Sawmill Construction,  built and installed 10 new cubby units with a variety of storage options as well as a bat storage box.    The result is greater pride and function.  More work toward installing athletic pride needs to be done.

Lobby Improvements- Summer 2022. Under the guidance of Stacey Oliva, the goal was to make significant changes to our Lobby area to transform the space into a focused, prideful area that was bright, welcoming clear in directions for visitors and instilled the pride of being a Miscoe student or staff member.  Upton Men’s Club were on board to provide the funding for this larger projects ($3100) Through the course of several meetings, starting in 2019, Stacey Oliva listened to feedback from multiple stakeholders to determine the vision for the entire space.  She drew up professional plans of the space and worked with volunteers to insure that everything went smoothly.  This was one of our larger projects involving multiple “project Leaders”.  We painted brick (Zac Pelc, Project Leader), demolished a display case (Joe Bonapace), created a new prideful wall (Joe Bonapace, Steven Aubut and Mark Duncan), built benches and tables for function (Mark Machado), added prideful purposeful signage (Lou Corriera) and infused Miscoe’s new logo donated by Chris Moran of Moran Design.  It is our project that by far has had the biggest “WOW” factor as the Lobby has not seen any significant improvements since 1980 when the Middle School was added.

Athletics Score Board- Donated $ toward new Score Board for Miscoe Hill Athletics ($1500)

Furniture Donations- Throughout 2019-2022, WCM accepted thousands of dollars worth of office and classroom equipment to help teachers upgrade their aging furniture, much of which was from the 60’s-80’s time frame.  We also purchased equipment/furniture at discounted prices to enhance the spaces we were working on in the school.  New furniture was purchased for Teacher’s Lounge, Conference Rooms, etc.