Some pick-up and drop-off notes for Hall School, ahem, Cathedral School parents

Until future notice, students of the Fred P. Hall School will be taking classes in Cathedral School. If you’ve been living in a box, I should point out that a week ago today, the Hall School was damaged in a fire — not one that leveled the place, mind you, but resulted in enough smoke and water damage to make the building uninhabitable for kids.

At first, school officials believed they would be able to cordon off the rooms most affected and carry on daily school activities everywhere else. They ultimately came to decide that wasn’t what they thought was in the district’s — and its students’ — best interests. After six days off from school for Hall students while the school system drew up alternative plans, those kids will be back in front of teachers again tomorrow for the first time since Sept. 14.

But they’ll be in front of those teachers at the historic Cathedral School, which was closed as a private Catholic school by the Diocese after the 2011 school year. Now, Portland Public Schools is using the property as its new Hall School, and the circumstances surrounding the temporary — but indefinite — change will be laid out before parents and the public tonight at Guild Hall, 307 Congress St., at 6:30 p.m.

For those who can’t make it, here’s a little bit of the information you’ll need to navigate the move: The morning bus drop-off will be on Cumberland Avenue to the west of Locust Street; bus pick-up in the afternoon will be along Locust Street itself; and parents can pick-up and drop-off kids for the rec program in the school parking lot of Congress Street.

Check out the map above, provided by the city of Portland, to learn more about what those logistics tweaks mean in terms of parking in the neighborhood.

For more on the Hall School fire and its aftermath, including a bit about the generous donation made by Bangor Savings Bank, click here.

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.