Memo to Parents and Students of Bridgewater Junior/Senior High

During March Break a freezer in the cafeteria at Bridgewater Junior/Senior High School malfunctioned resulting in the thawing of meat products. Due to the elevation in temperature, packaging ruptured releasing an odour. The issue was discovered on Thursday and staff worked on cleaning the unit and area over four days. A Health Inspector came to the school and checked the area and unit for any concerns and found none. The unit was clean and deemed sanitary and safe to use. Due to the nature of bad odour, it is lingering.

Also over March Break work was being done on the roof of the school which requiring the HVAC system to be turned off. With this system off, the circulation of air was slowed considerably making the odour last longer. On Tuesday of this week a leak developed at the work site on the roof which brought water into a hallway on the second floor. On Wednesday the area was cleaned up and wet ceiling tiles were removed. The school is not concerned with mold or mildew developing. The roof is of steel construction and the wet tiles have been removed, leaving no area for mold or mildew to develop.  We are now working with the contractor to have the roof fixed.

The combination of the odour from the cafeteria and the leak in the roof has caused some student and parent concern. We closed the school on Monday to allow for clean up and assessment. We have no hesitations that the school is safe for staff and students and are working to resolve the issues.