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!  

March 28, 2015

Recently, we found out that the State would be removing P6, P7, and P8 so they can find the manhole and connect the pipes to the new special education classroom and the covered playcourt.  Prior to that, however, the classrooms need to be abated since there is some asbestos in the flooring and lead paint on the exterior.  We had to come up with a plan, and I want to thank the teachers and students for their flexibility.  A number of parents came to help P5 move to J4 and P6 move to H2.  I was amazed at how quickly everyone worked to make the moves possible, and I want to express my appreciation to all the volunteers, the teachers, and the custodians.  The contractors will be following the required procedures to ensure the safety of everyone while they abate the building. It shouldn't take too long - maybe a month or so.

We anxiously await the arrival of the floor tiles; I haven't checked the status of the shipment recently, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that they arrive soon.

Classrooms will be getting ceiling fans, and today, workers put them up in B1.  The students were happy and said they could feel the difference!  The fans are quiet and we can adjust the speed; now that the electricians started with B1, we hope they'll be able to install the fans in most of the classrooms before summer break.

Four of these fans will be installed in the "old" classrooms.  The new classrooms will also have these types of fans which should keep all the rooms sufficiently cool.

Work continues on the library media/student center.  Last week, we started looking at furniture for this new building.  We haven't ordered anything yet, but we know what our vision is for these buildings.  

Would You Believe?

Earlier this month, our contractors were digging the area for the covered playcourt when they discovered something buried.  Work halted while we worked to figure out what was in that container. Working with the US Army Garrison (Department of Public Works), we got a copy of a map from 1956, prior to turning the land over to the Department of Education to build our school. We discovered that the area where our school now sits was once a BOQ (Bachelor Officers Quarters). Tests determined that the container was filled with water so removal could be accomplished pretty easily. Today, workers came in to first pump out the water and then dig around the area to remove the container. I missed the actual removal, but I was able to take this photo of the 12-foot container on the truck, ready to be hauled away.  Amazing!

Now that the container has been removed, work can continue on the covered playcourt.

This was a productive week for the workers; they tried to finish as much as they can while students are not in school.  We only had a 1-week Spring Break, but that was sufficient for them to accomplish a lot.

On Monday, these structural pan decks were delivered.  Very shortly, the first floor of the library media/student center will be ready to have these installed as part of the floor and later for the roof of the building.  

New fans were installed in the cafeteria!  These are big and really cool down the area.  

This is the view of the back of the classroom building.  I can't wait to take a photo from the front; that won't happen until the summer when the portables and trailer are removed. 

Another project completed this week was digging a trench for electricity for the covered playcourt. Today, they poured concrete to cover the pipes, and tomorrow, they'll cover the trench.  We'll have to keep students away from the area especially when it's muddy.  

Work is progressing rapidly on the library media/student center!  This is a view from the front of the parking lot.  

The grass hasn't completely filled in yet but it's definitely growing! If you look to the rear of the photo, new grass was planted this past week.

School is back in session on Monday! As always, we ask that everyone be safe!

Catching Up! March 16, 2015

Whew! Last week was our accreditation visit and this past weekend, our tech team spent two full days learning more about Future Ready, the federal 1:1 initiative. Today is the first day of Spring Break.  Yeah!  A chance to sit down and catch up!

A lot is happening with our project, thanks to the great weather we've had.  Let me share some photos from last week and today.

The water fountains were installed in the new classroom building.  The kids will love that they can fill up their water bottles using the sensor.

These paper drawers are so much lighter than the ones in the present classrooms, and they're on wheels so teachers can move them easily.

The fire lane for the new building is still being worked on.  This is the area for the fire trucks if there is ever a fire (hopefully never!). 

Last week, they started installing the elevator for the classroom building. It's a 2-story building, so an elevator is a requirement.

This is the view from the second floor of the classroom building.  You can see the progress since last time when we shared a similar photo.

The electricians worked on Saturday to get ready for the installation of new fans in the cafeteria.  These are huge and are supposed to be really quiet.  I'll go by later to see if they've installed the blades.  

This is what the fans look like in the learning hub of the classroom building.  The classroom fans are a smaller model of this one.  Because we are in a cool area of the island with lots of tradewinds, our design team decided that air conditioning was not a necessity and these fans would be more energy-efficient.  

If you look closely, you can see the fans (as well as the lighting) in the classrooms.  Today, they are installing the movable walls.  I tried to take a photo, but it didn't come out.  Since collaboration is an important part of 21st century learning, the classrooms were designed to encourage different configurations.  There will also be movable walls in front of the classrooms so students can use the learning hub (hallway) as a learning space. They also installed the acoustic panels on the walls; you can see them in the top part of this photo.

The elevator is working!  In fact, we were treated to the very first ride, and it was so smooth. The elevator worker said they didn't use cables; they used belts.  

March 7, 2015

Progress! We had beautiful weather this week, and we can see lots of visible progress on the library media/student center!  We also had an opportunity to see how the classroom building is going. The painting is just about completed, and the acoustical clouds have been installed.  The restrooms are just about finished, too, and the elevator work has started.  We are waiting for the tiles to be delivered.  Because we requested a change in the type of rubber tiles that will be used in the classroom building, the work was delayed.  Although I am quite impatient, I do realize that the change order was necessary; it'll be easier to maintain, and that's important in the long run.

This is the area closest to the office which will be part of the Student Center.

The view from the second floor of the classroom building.  The white is Building B's roof; as you can see, the building is getting taller.  It's already higher than the top of the walkway.  The cafeteria is in the background.

These workers are preparing to install the elevator for the new classroom building.  Since it is a 2-story building, an elevator is required.

As you can see, the building is getting taller.  By next week, they should be completed with the first floor walls.  

February 28, 2015

This was a productive week especially for the masons! We had a big concrete pour on Tuesday, and the bricklaying started the next day.  Look at how much was accomplished by the end of the week!

The SOG was ready for the concrete pour on Tuesday, February 24.

Many hands make light work!

All done! 

Starting on the walls for the library media/student center

There was also a concrete pour for the sidewalk that connects the new classroom building to Building A.  Students will now have access to P11, P13, and P17 once again. 

Masons are working on the Student Center part of the new building which will house the Student Services Coordinator, counselors, speech pathologists, behavioral health therapist, our instructional coaches, and the Tripler SMHT program.  There will be rooms for meetings and for testing, too.