December 24, 2015

This will probably be my last post for this calendar year. Much has happened from January 2015 till December 2015. Most exciting was the opening of our new classroom building in July! Our students and teachers enjoy their new learning space, and lots of quality teaching and learning takes place every day in those classrooms.

Here's what's been happening with the project. The next time I add to this blog, it will be 2016. Happy Holidays, everyone!

The walkway to the library will be completed soon. Workers kept this area open because they needed heavy equipment to access the second floor.

The Student Services Coordinator clerk has her own space to work.

This is the special education classroom prior to having the floor tiles installed. 

Masons continue to work on the CMU walls of the covered play court.

The tiles for the restrooms in the library building are done.

Getting ready to pour concrete at the entrance to the library.

The elevator is almost ready in the new building. 

Installing the floor in the special education classroom

Waxed, burnished, and all done! We're waiting for one more approval before we can occupy the room.

Concrete was poured for the library walkway.

December 10, 2015

Work continues steadily on our construction project. The special education classroom should be completed soon, and steady progress is being made on the library media/student center and the covered play court.

Winter is here so the sun comes up later; it's dark when workers start their work day at 6:30 a.m., and we hope for good weather so deadlines can be met.

I was able to take a few photos late last week but neglected to post them.

The ceiling was installed for part of the library.  

This area in the soon-to-be MakerSpace will have a different type of ceiling. (I forgot what it is called, but I'll ask the contractor.)

There was a different (newer?) crane lifting the metal plates for the library roof. 

This crane was lifting the column frames into place. Now we can see how high the covered play court will be!

The grass in front of the classroom building is growing. We are waiting for the time when we can use this area for physical education classes and assemblies.  Not all areas are grown in yet, so it'll be a little longer. 

November 28, 2015

This was Thanksgiving week so it was a short school week for students and teachers.  The contractors took a break for the holiday, but workers were back at work on Friday.

A lot of progress is taking place inside the building, and we had a chance to see what is happening. It is exciting to see all the progress!

Workers use laser beams to make sure the whiteboards and tackboards are straight when they are installed.

This is the work area in the library media resource center that will be housing all kinds of materials and technology. 

The plan is to turn this room into a Makerspace. It will be so exciting to see our school community collaborating and creating in this area! 

It was amazing to watch these guys working. They are so skilled in what they do, and they work quickly and efficiently. Those pieces they cut to size are heavy! 

These are the windows for the second floor tech lab that overlooks the library below. 

November 21, 2015

Now that most of the work is happening inside the building, it isn't always possible to take photos to show the progress. Yet we know that there is much going on as we see the workers daily and hear the sounds of construction throughout the day except during their well-deserved lunch break when works comes to a halt and the silence is noticeable. It surely will be different once everything is completed!

I always believe that rainbows are a positive sign of the day ahead. 

The special education classroom was scheduled to be completed at the same time as the covered play court. Since the portables were removed and we needed the space, however, we hope to have that room completed earlier.

The tiling for the special education restrooms and shower are completed. 

The crane was on-site to lift these metal panels for the roof of the library media/student center.

The interior walls are being painted on the first floor of the library media/student center. 

The colors are the same as what's in the classroom building except that the colors are reversed (first floor of this building is the same as the second floor of the classroom building and vice versa). 

I've shared photos looking from the second floor down to the library. This is the view from the library up to the tech center.

I am amazed at the size of the covered play court! 

Another view of the covered play court. We will have a place for the whole school to gather for assemblies and presentations!

This bench will be a place for students to wait for the bus or for parents to pick them up after the buses leave. Once we get our parking lot back, we will be able to create a better drop-off and pick-up routine. I know that's been a challenge since the project commenced. 

November 8, 2015

Things are moving along nicely with the project! Sometimes it's hard to see the progress because much of what is happening is inside the buildings. Nevertheless, I go around and take photos of the changes I can see from the outside. 

This past week, our PE teacher Mr. Bevacqua asked to see the plans. We looked through the book for the right page and showed him what the covered play court would look like. On one side is a presentation area; on the other side, the restrooms are located as well as an area for the custodians to charge their golf carts. The actual court space will be large enough for the whole school to fit during assemblies, sitting on the floor. There will be retractable basketball hoops, and the ceiling will be very tall; workers will be adding 20 feet more to the columns.

Since I took so few photos last week, I made an effort to remember this week. 

This is a view from the front of the library media/student center from the parking lot.  

The special education classroom is looking pretty good from the outside. There's still work to do on the inside, but workers are making progress.

The sidewalk and the stairs are done, going from the covered play court to J building.

The masons have made good progress on the rooms at the end of the covered play court. 

Most of the windows have been installed on this side of the new building.

This is a slightly different view of the library media/student center. The library is the whole first floor on the right of this photo. The student center is on the left side. 

October 31, 2015

Work continues on our buildings, and this week, we had visitors from the Office of Economic Adjustment and the Governor's office take a tour to see our progress. We were proud to show them around and answer their questions.

The bottom floor of the library media/student center is coming along nicely. The walls are up, for the most part, and workers are continuing on the electrical system, the roof, windows, and the upstairs walls.

The special education classroom is progressing as well. They were putting up the tile walls in the restrooms and shower when we went by with our visitors. Next week, they will be pulling the data cables to make sure that room has connectivity.

When our visitors were on campus, workers were pouring the concrete for the covered play court walkways; after that is complete and ready, workers will continue the columns on the sides another 20 feet or so. I didn't realize how tall that building would be! I guess we won't have to worry about balls hitting the roof!

I didn't take many photos this week :-(

The view of the covered play court from the media center on the second floor of the building under construction

Gary Willis from OEA and Thomas Lee, the Governor's military affairs liaison, were among the visitors this week. They wanted to see the progress of the buildings, and they were pretty satisfied with how things are going. 

October 24, 2015

Continued progress on the project! We had a chance to tour the buildings, and things are moving along nicely. I find it so amazing every time the project manager takes us on a tour; it makes me realize how little I know about construction.

This is one of the four offices downstairs for our counselors and the Behavioral Health Therapist. They have been sharing a room for so long; I'm sure they are looking forward to having a space of their own.

This is part of the air conditioning system. The chiller outside the main office chills the water which in turn chills the building. The water returns to the chiller to be re-cooled.  

We are standing in the tech center on the second floor looking out towards the new classroom building. There will be a window in that area at the end of the room. 

This was taken from the second floor tech center looking down at the library on the first floor. 

From the second floor, we can see the covered play-court being constructed. That building will be a lot taller; the workers are continuing to build up the columns prior to putting up the roof. 

Right now, the masons are building the restrooms, the custodians' workroom, and a place for the electrical golf carts to be charged.  

Workers will soon pour concrete for the covered walkways as well as the columns. 

This is a panoramic view of the side of the covered play-court. It will be huge!

October 17, 2015

Although the weather was pretty miserable again this past week, work continued because the roof of the library media/student center is now sealed and water-tight. Work started on closing the walls of the first floor. As soon as the weather improves, the roofers can start laying the metal on the roof.

Right now, we are a little behind schedule due to the weather. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the rainy season is a mild one this year.

We got to take a short tour of the library media/student center this week. I am sorry that I didn't take more photos of the covered play court or the new furniture in the learning hub of the classroom building. I'll try to remember next week.

Do you notice something missing? The landscapers removed all the red hibiscus bushes because they were not growing well. 

This photo is a bit dark. It shows the walls going up on the first floor of the new building.

The ceiling and the air conditioning vents were painted white. The ceiling will be open in the library area of the building. 

This is another view of the ceiling in the library. Workers still have to add the sound clouds and the lighting fixtures.