How Students, Teachers Beat Extreme Heat

What a difference a cold front makes.

This being New England on the cusp of summer, the temperature is bound to rise again, along with the humidity, before school ends this month.

How do students and teachers cope with the heat at school?

Some bring cooling breezes inside with them, or go outside to find shade.  At the , teachers bring fans into their rooms, or have fans there, Principal Ernie Wells told Woburn Patch yesterday. Or they take their students outside, he said, under a shady tree.

New Woburn schools use another heat control system.

“All of the new Woburn schools have air conditioning,” said Wayne Clark, principal of the .

“So Shamrock kids stay cool,” Clark said, “by staying in.”  They used the gym Thursday for recess, he said, because it was so hot outside.

With AC, it’s been “pretty comfortable” at the Shamrock School, Clark said.

The other day the air conditioning at the Shamrock School was on the fritz, according to Clark. In that case, some Shamrock students took a non-mechanical approach to the heat. They brought books outside and worked in the shade.

At the , the classrooms and other spaces such as the auditorium, but not the halls, are air-conditioned, said Principal Joe Finigan.

The building has automatic temperature controls, Finigan said, part of its green energy-efficient design.

Woburn Patch called the principal of each public school in the city to find out how they and their students and staffs cope with the heat.

Some students at enjoyed a special perk to counter the heat. The school has no air conditioning, according to third-grade teacher Roberta Saulnier. Some rooms do have fans, she said Thursday afternoon around 3:30. And some mothers brought a sweet treat to beat Thursday’s heat:  Popsicles.