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Hillview rebuild moves to final stages

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story had the wrong date for the grand opening event for the new Hillview Middle School campus in Menlo Park. The correct date is Tuesday, Aug. 28.

==B By Elena Kadvany==

==I Special to the Almanac==

Yellow tape and construction workers have been a fixture at Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park for the past 15 months. But the end is near.

The school is moving toward the final stages of construction on the campus at Santa Cruz and Elder avenues, according to Ahmad Sheikholeslami, director of facility planning and construction for the Menlo Park City School District.

Portable classrooms have been removed from Hillview or demolished. School furnishings and materials are being stored in the gym or have been moved into the new two-story school buildings.

On June 28, major demolition activities began and will continue for the next month, he said in an announcement.

In the next two months, the contractor will complete all the site work for the new school, from an interior courtyard to the road that leads into the new school, as well as most of the landscaping, he said.

To prepare for the start of the 2012-2013 school year on Sept. 4, the contractor is working on completing the school's interior spaces — 48 classrooms, including specialized classrooms for computers, music, choir, broadcast, science, industrial technology, art and special needs. The district will furnish the classrooms.

A new synthetic, all-purpose athletic field is scheduled to be completed by Dec. 1. The field will be shared with the city of Menlo Park.

A grand opening celebration, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and classroom tours, is set for Tuesday, Aug. 28, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at 1100 Elder Ave. in Menlo Park. All community members are welcome to attend.

• Go to tinyurl.com/Hillview-629 for more information from the district webiste. Near the top is a video Hillview students made of the new campus.