April 25, 2015

In a little over a month, it'll be summer, and there will be lots happening on campus.  Teachers in the wings that will be renovated have started packing, and those who will be in the new classroom building are deciding what to take and what to purge. Electricians are working after school hours to install ceiling fans in the classrooms.  Portable 8 is gone; it was removed at midnight on Thursday, and soon, Portables 7 and 6 will follow.  Floor tiles are being installed on the first floor, and landscapers are preparing to plant grass in the back of the classroom building.  And work continues on the library media/student center and the special education classroom and covered playcourt. The progress is amazing!

The rubberized tiles are completely installed in two of the rooms on the bottom floor.  There are movable walls between the classrooms as well as by the entry out to the learning hub.  The rooms were designed to be flexible to encourage 21st century learning - collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creating.  There will also be lots of opportunity for students to use technology to explore, discover, create, and share. 

P8 was the first portable to be removed.  P7 and P6 will be removed by the first week of May.

We are waiting for the portables to be removed so workers can find the manhole and connect the sewer line to this classroom at the end of J-building.

Last week, this area was hard and full of weeds.  Very shortly, landscapers will be planting the grass.  

April 21, 2015

I just realized that I didn't update this blog last week. For those of you who were looking forward to an update, I apologize.  Frankly, though, I only took two photos last week; I was too busy taking pictures of Purple Up! day and our Track Team.  I hope to do better this week.

Portables 6,7, and 8 are almost ready to be removed. Once they are taken off our school property, workers can begin the process of locating the water source that is presently under one of those portable classrooms.  By next week, the 3 portables should be gone.

The floor tiles are being installed on the first floor of the classroom building.  These tiles are rubberized, but unlike the ones that are in the administration building, these are pretty easy to maintain. The colors match the wall colors of the first floor; the second floor has a different color combination.  I'll share that pattern when work starts on that floor.

I like the colors of the floor tiles!

This is the side of the library building.  On the far left, there will be a glass door.  Do you notice the patterns of the windows? They're lower so students can see outside when they're reading or doing other activities in the library.  I don't recall seeing windows like these on other buildings.  

April 11, 2015

We've been waiting for the floor tiles to arrive for the new classroom building, and today, they were delivered!  It's been a busy and always-productive week for our contractors.

This is the fire lane; there's still more work to do, and when completed, it will be covered with grass.

Workers are prepping the floors to install the rubber floor tiles.

The basins are in the hallway outside the restrooms. No more playing in the bathrooms and getting the floors wet!

The view of the library media/student center from the second floor flex room in the classroom building

Workers removed the black tarp barrier between B and C building.  Next up - landscaping the back of the new classroom building.

This is the inside of the student center where the Student Services Coordinator, counselors, instructional coaches, the Tripler SMHT staff, etc. will have offices.  There will be two floors.

Workers are in the library section.  This area will have a high ceiling and from the top floor, we will be able to look down on what's going on in the library.

This is what it looks like from the parking lot.

A closer look at the library media/student center

Mrs. Pita and some fourth graders were working on their hydroponics systems.  This is the view from the flex classroom on the second floor.

Finally, the rubberized floor tiles have arrived!! 

April 1, 2015

Being an active observer in this whole construction project has been such a great experience for me! I am learning so much and have gained so much respect for the workers who can take an empty lot and turn it into a functional, aesthetically-pleasing building! We're still waiting for the floor tiles for the classroom building, but in the meantime, work continues.

This is a view of 1 classroom in the new building.

. . . and this is a panoramic view of two adjoining classrooms.  21st century learning is collaborative, and teachers will be able to move the partitions to co-teach, to have students work on projects, etc. Students can also use the learning hub outside the classroom as part of the learning environment.

  Every time I get to visit the new building, I like to take a photo of the library media/student center; the first floor is just about at its proper height. 

The red trailer delivered two air conditioning units for the library media/student center.  That building will be fully air conditioned.

A crane was brought in to lift the first unit off the trailer and over the walls into the designated location.

I am always amazed at how such a heavy object is lifted so gently.

I was able to see how the workers were able to guide the unit down onto the 2x4s in such a tight space.  It was amazing hearing the instructions -- "move 2 feet to the right, now 6 inches more, slowly now . . . "

. . . right on the 2x4s!  The AC unit is not directly on the pad yet.  Workers will move it after they are done painting the walls.  At that time, I'm not sure how they will move such a heavy object, but I'm sure they have done it before and they'll do it again!