Saturday, November 28, 2015

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. 

Saturday, November 21, 2015

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. 



Sunday, November 8, 2015

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.