July 17, 2016

I've been away on vacation for the past week, but thanks to Vice Principal Arikawa and School Administrative Services Assistant (SASA) Ferreira, I've been informed and received photos about what's been going on back at school. They know that I am anxious about the completion date for our project and making sure that everything gets done as scheduled. So here are photos of what was going on last week while I was enjoying time with our family on the mainland.

Contractors are working on the retractable basketball hoops in the covered play court. After they are done, work will begin on the flooring.

 Railings were installed between the covered play court and J-building. 

Here's another view of the retractable basketball hoops.
The covered play court won't be ready until sometime in September.  We understand the doors will not arrive in time to be completed in mid-August as hoped. 

Landscapers are finalizing the fire lane by the covered play court for the back of the school. It will be like the one in the front of the school by O-building.

The State is refurbishing the playground near the cafeteria. I can't wait to see the new features they are installing! We had hoped to get another playground structure in the back of the school, but that may not happen for a few more years. 

Now that the asbestos removal has been completed and the air quality approved, workers began painting the cafeteria. We are changing the color to match the other new buildings on campus.

The custodians are working hard on the landscaping.
In the time since school ended, they've been giving the rooms (especially the floors) a thorough cleaning and the plants have grown out-of-control. We are grateful for our custodial crew who go above-and-beyond to keep our school safe, clean, and green!

The area in front of O-building is huge, and it will be an area for recess and physical education classes. Thanks to the persistence of Head Custodian Naki, the State agreed to install a sprinkler system. Yeah! Now we can keep the area hydrated so it doesn't turn into a dust bowl.

What's missing in the front of the school?
The contractor's trailer was moved closer to the covered play court.
This coming school year, we will have two drop-off areas where parents can drive through, drop their kids off, and not get out of their car. More information will be available about the procedure changes.

July 4, 2016

Happy Independence Day!

There's a little less than one month before students return to school. My goodness, summer is going by so quickly! Things are moving quickly, and we are hopeful that we will be able to occupy the new buildings sometime in August. Not too many photos to share at this time.

Spraying the back . . . 

. . . and all done! Hopefully, the grass will grow in by the time school begins. The field will be so much more spacious for recess as well as for our physical education classes. Of course we will also have the covered play court for PE, too. After three years of limited area due to construction, the space will be especially welcome!

The last of the covered walkways was poured last week. Now students will be able to stay dry when walking from one area of the campus to another. 

We were able to choose some flexible furniture for our library and media production room. These Steelcase Node chairs are really comfortable and will enable students to collaborate on projects.  

We have been waiting patiently for this container to arrive! The windows for the library building are finally here! Yeah! Next week, they'll start installation. 

June 25, 2016

There are less than two months left before our project will be completed. We are hopeful that the deadline will be met.

Right now, workers are waiting for the windows for the library to arrive so we can complete that building. Until the windows are installed, we cannot complete the floors or the shelving for the library. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the windows will be on-site early in the week.

Here are a few photos from the past couple of weeks.

The jalousies have been installed at the top of the covered play court. 

I think the windows look really nice; the natural light through the windows works really nicely during the day.

Most of the interior lights have been installed. We think they'll mostly be used for evening events or on days when there is no sun.

Those are the poles for the volleyball court. The basketball baskets will be retractable and controlled remotely. They should be installed very soon, and then work on the floor will begin.

The landscapers are ready to spray the grass, hopefully at the beginning of the week. The sprinklers are already in place so depending on how long the grass takes to grow, we will have a larger area for physical education and for recess.  

The final part of the cafeteria is being abated. After we get clearance for the air quality, we can begin painting the exterior. The interior of the cafeteria is not scheduled to be renovated; that is not part of the project.  

Those are the acoustical clouds in the library area. They are intended to be decorative while also helping to reduce ambient noise. 

June 8, 2016

It's been about two weeks since school year 2015-2016 ended, and the workers are doing their best to get as much done before the next school year begins. We are still waiting for the windows and doors for the library building, and hopefully, everything will be done by mid-August. When school was in session, it was harder to notice all the changes because there were always people around, but now that it's summer, I have more opportunities to check what's going on. Here are photos of what's been going on in the past couple of weeks with our construction project.

Most of the windows are installed in the covered play court. Right now, the electricians are installing the lights. There should be a lot of natural light during the day, but if we have evening activities, we will need to turn on the lights.

We're really excited that the back area will be much larger! Now our students have more area for PE and for recess in addition to the area in front of O-building. We're looking at ways to have a variety of activities for students at recess. They shared that they want things for building, climbing, quiet activities like reading books, playing board games, and doing art in addition to active activities. In fact, some 3rd grade students presented their Playground Proposal to me before the year ended. These students definitely have some cool ideas! We'll see what we can do.

The cafeteria is being abated and will be repainted. Shortly, this plastic covering will be removed and they'll work on the side then the back of the cafeteria. It'll take a few more weeks to complete the abatement, then it'll be time for painting the exterior. 

When the project is completed, there will be covered walkways throughout the school. This one goes to the cafeteria from the new library media/student center. Now students don't have to get wet when it's raining. Of course, knowing kids, it's more fun to get wet, right?

These remind me of the cup holders at McDonalds. They're for the fire lane that's being built in the back by the covered play court. 

It looks odd to not have the big black barriers between D-building and this new building! Shortly, the landscapers will work on the grass and other plants in different areas of campus. 

Painters are finishing up the exterior of the library media/student center. It sure looks nice! 

Can you see the two workers painting by the eaves? They are in a "cage" and every time the wind blows, the "bucket" shakes. I don't think I could do that work. It requires balance and a steady hand.

May 21, 2016

My goodness - it's been three weeks since I updated this blog. It's been super busy, but I shouldn't be making excuses.

Summer break will be here next week, and we are hopeful that the buildings will be ready for occupancy by the time school begins on August 1 or shortly thereafter. We are crossing our fingers and toes and hoping!

We are still waiting for the windows to arrive for the library area; they should be arriving shortly. This is what is holding up the completion of that building so the sooner those windows arrive, the happier I'll be.

Here's the latest updates:

For the first time in 3 years, we were able to put on a May Day program for our school community. The only area large enough to hold that many people was in front of O-building. The May Day Committee came up with a creative solution, and students danced on the fire lane. 

Each grade level did a performance; first graders danced to Bruno Mars' "Count on Me" which exemplified our theme, "Share Aloha."

Last week, we hosted visitors from the Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment who were on-island to discuss upcoming projects at Solomon Elementary and Mokapu Elementary. They also met with groups from the military as well as the Department of Education.  They were impressed with our project!

This is what the library circulation desk looked like on Wednesday when we took the visitors to that building.  

The easy section of the library will have these shelves and places where students can sit and read or look out the window. We're a little worried that there might not be enough shelf space for all of our books. We'll have to see when the building is complete and we start placing books on the shelves. 

The contractors connected the sidewalk to a concrete slab that we can use when students begin using this area for recess. We're thinking that hopscotch or four-square might work on that slab. Workers are waiting for approval before they finish the fire lane by the covered play court.

The circulation desk has been installed!

May 1, 2016

School year 2015-2016 ends on May 26, and summer break will begin. By then, most of the project will be completed. The windows for the library won't be here until June, but hopefully, we can get them installed and the rest of the library media center can be finished. Until then, work continues in the library media/student support center and the covered play court.

Here are some updated photos of the work that is being done.

Workers are installing the translucent windows in the covered play court.

This is the view from the inside of the play court. The translucent windows let light in. 

Workers removed the black barriers in the hallway between buildings A/B/C and D/E.  I'm sure our parents appreciate being able to push their strollers down the hallway without feeling cramped.

Workers are starting on laying the tile flooring on the bottom floor of the library media/ student support center. After that, they'll be installing the permanent stairs. Then we can start to move boxes into the rooms but we cannot occupy them until everything is finished and we have the Certificate of Occupancy.

The lawn fronting O-building is looking better; we need to keep the grass short so the weeds can be kept under control. This is where we will have our May Day program on May 13.

The supports for the covered walkway were removed. There is one more area that needs to be completed; the covered walkway will go all the way to the cafeteria.

April 16, 2016

Construction is going well. We still have issues that need to be resolved but things are moving. We are working to get the front grassy area free of weeds because we plan to have our May Day program there for this year only. That is the only area that is large enough to accommodate the whole school. Roofers are starting to lay the insulation at the outdoor play court, and the upstairs of the library media/student center is almost complete. We are waiting for the fire inspection so we can occupy J5, the special education classroom. There is evidence of progress!

It took 8 workers to get this logo installed.

Looking at the covered play court from the back of the school 

The insulation is ready to be laid on top of the metal pan decks.  

The soaring eagle logo - there is one outside the library and one in the covered play court by the stage. I really like how it turned out - very classy!