May 28, 2015

Last week, I neglected to take many photos, so this week, I tried to make up for it.  One more week before the movement mayhem begins!  So many teachers are moving classrooms this summer, and we still have five wings to be renovated.  Our custodians will be very busy again.

Here's what's been happening this week on our construction project here at Hale Kula.

This is a view of the special education classroom adjoining J4. Students will have opportunities to learn life skills in addition to academics and social skills.

This is what the railings will look like for the second floor of the classroom building.  As soon as the furniture is delivered to the classrooms on the second floor, workers can install these railings.

Do you know what this is?  It feels similar to the drink holders from McDonalds. This system is called grasscrete paving and is favored as a sustainability model.

This is what it looks like when all of the pieces are in place.  Workers are completing the fire lane in front of the new classroom building.  There will also be a fire lane in the back of the school so the fire trucks can have access in case of an emergency.

A close-up  - notice the rebars in-between.  After concrete is poured to cover the whole area, workers will punch a hole in each of those shapes, fill them with soil, and plant grass in each hole.   

On Thursday, workers poured concrete for the fire lane.

Concrete paving is done; the next step is to poke holes in all those pavers.

We went on a second floor walkthrough and created a punch list of items that need to be fixed.  I took this photo of the library media/student center.  Workers are preparing to pour the footings so they can start the CMU walls for the second floor.

 

May 24, 2015

Things are progressing!  It is so exciting to see that the new classroom building is just about completed and that we can start moving in soon.  The furniture should be arriving by the end of the month; funding is provided for furniture for every new building project in the Department. Yeah!

With the school year almost over, teachers are busy packing to get ready to move or to have their rooms renovated.  Summer is one week shorter than last year, so hopefully, we will complete whatever needs to be done.  It'll be tight, but we know that everyone will be working hard to get everything done.

I didn't have the chance to take too many new photos last week; hopefully, I'll do better this coming week!

Steelworkers were able to install the metal pan deck for the roof of the library.  

They poured concrete for part of the walkway that will lead to the Student Support Center or the library. 

The CMU walls for the special education classroom by J building is almost completed.

May 16, 2015

As each day passes, I realize that it means we are closer to the ending of the school year and the beginning of summer where we hope to finish the classroom renovations (for the remaining 5 wings) as well as moving teachers into the new building.  We have a lot of classrooms and teachers moving rooms next year, so our custodial staff will be extra busy this summer!

Here are some photos from this week:

The 3 portables - P6, P7, and P8 - have been removed, and this week, we moved the storage container to the front end of the school.  Since P10 and P11 will be moved this summer. we needed to get the storage container out of the way. 

The CMU walls are going up for the special education classroom for our K-2 students.  Unfortunately, it won't be ready for the start of school, but hopefully, we'll be able to move in by the end of the first quarter. 

The tree was in the way of the covered play court and needed to be removed.  

This is another view of the special education classroom.

Just the trunk remained after the first day, and shortly afterwards, there was nothing but wood chips and sawdust.  Some of the students were concerned, and I had to explain why we had to remove it. 

Installed in the special education room for 3rd-5th graders

Learning life skills are as important as learning academics. Students will have opportunities to plan meals, to follow recipes, and to cook what they've grown and to clean up afterwards. 

This is a view of the learning hub, another area for students to meet and collaborate.  The first floor will house two second and two third grade classrooms.  Second graders face the street, and third graders face the gulch.  

The view of the library media/student center from the second floor of the classroom building.  The structural steel beams were placed last week, and now workers are installing the metal pan deck for the second floor.

By the end of the week, workers had made even more progress on the CMU walls for the special education classroom next to J4.

This is a close-up view of the front of the library media center. The steel beams are the roof line; the areas between the CMU walls and the beams are where the windows will be installed.  The library will have high ceilings and lots of natural light shining in.  

This is the metal pan deck in the Student Center side of the new building.  After this, I believe workers will start preparing to pour concrete for the second floor.

More Progress! May 9, 2015

This week, some of the teachers who will be in the new building were able to take a tour of the classrooms. They can't wait to start moving in! The building was designed as a 21st century learning space with movable walls between classrooms as well as into the learning hub. The final touches will be happening soon - connecting the data, delivery of the furniture, learning how to operate the movable walls, and packing/unpacking the classroom resources and materials.  Such an exciting time!

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, there was a huge crane parked by the library media/student center. Workers were laying down the steel beams, the first step in preparing for the second floor. They also were laying the foundation for the roof for the library side of the building. I am always intrigued and amazed when I see how the workers operate these huge machines and how they exemplify the General Learner Outcomes. Our students can learn from these workers about applying the GLOs in their professions.

Here are a few photos from this week. Only a few more weeks until summer!

The appliances were delivered for the special education room in the new building.  We will be teaching students life skills as well as academics. It will be great for the students!

I thought this sign was cute; it's in the special education classroom.

The movable walls between two classrooms have whiteboards built in; it's pretty nifty! 

This is the view of one of the third grade classrooms on the first floor.

The signs were installed; this is building O.

A closeup of the view from outside the third grade classroom.  The second and fourth grade classes face the road; the third and fifth graders will have a view of the back of the school.  Notice the lavender petals from the jacaranda trees. 

This is the machine that helped lift the steel beams so workers could place and secure them.

We could see them lifting the pieces and dropping them ever-so-gently so workers could place them in the proper place.

I was working late on Thursday and was amazed when I saw how much the workers had accomplished after school ended.  They had finished most of the frame for the library roof.  The empty spaces are where the windows will be installed.  There will be a high ceiling and natural lighting in the library.

This is a view of the library media/student center building from the second floor of the classroom building.

Finally, now that the slab-on-grade is completed for the K-2 special education classroom, workers will be starting on the walls.  Unfortunately, that classroom won't be ready in July as we had hoped.  There is a problem with the size of the sewer pipe to the classroom so they need to wait until school is out before digging again.  

May 3, 2015

It's already May, and there is one more month before summer break! Even before that, though, there will be a lot of action with teachers in A, F, H, I, and J packing their things to prepare for the classroom renovations.  Last summer, the other buildings were spruced up with the removal of the floor tiles, installation of new floor tiles, re-roofing, and painting the entire room.  Electricians are presently working after school and into the evening to prepare the rooms for the ceiling fans. When school begins, every classroom should be cooler and more comfortable.

Workers are installing the floor tiles on the second floor of the new building.  This floor is a different color from the first floor, and I must say that the color combination turned out much better than I thought at first.  Workers will be done by this coming week.  Here's what it looks like:

This past week, we had another concrete pour for the special education classroom next to building J, the walkway in front of the Administration Building, and the sidewalk behind the Library Media/Student Center.

And finally, it's two down, and one more to go.  Portable 7 was removed last week, and Portable 6 should be moved on Monday evening at midnight.  Can you believe that Mrs. Villalobos has been in P6 for the past 16 years for her whole teaching career here at Hale Kula?  I told her it's a good time to move to a new position, so she will be one of our Instructional Coaches next year.  

By Friday, P6 was placed on a trailer, ready to be moved at midnight on Monday, May 4.