Looking up... and a weekend update

During Thursday's TOP OUT ceremony, a celebratory wreath was hung from the rooftop of our school on the Arbutus side of our new building.  Take a look way up when you next pass by...

Also, on yesterday's beautiful sunny Saturday, window installers worked throughout the day to set in place a number of classroom windows on the south side of the building.  We are pretty certain that every day we will both see and hear changes which point to so much progress.

A view from the top... at the "top out" party!

Those in the know, ensured that our Parish hosted a TOP OUT PARTY today to celebrate the closing of the roof, and thank the trades that are working on our site.  At the gathering, held on the 3rd floor in the area facing south, were Father Andrzej, our Building Committee, leaders from our contractors, Yellowridge, our architect, other invited guests, our Owner's Representative and many people from the trades that are currently working on the site. Vic Vela organized a great Greek lunch for all, and accumulated prizes were shared with the workers as another sign of our thanks.

The photos represent views from the 3rd floor, both looking east, and south.  (The view from way up there is amazing - and I can hardly wait till everyone can walk inside what has been dreamed of, planned for and created by everyone's generosity.)

We keep the workers in our continual prayers - and thank all our donors for helping us get this far!

Progress Photos

From the 7th Avenue corner into the Resource Room on the second floor

 Looking south on 7th Avenue into the entrance way and at the Multipurpose Room on second floor

A faithful reader of this BLOG nudged me today to pick up the story for our readers, which she's been keeping up with over the course of the past fifteen months... Apologies to all for the month of quiet; we assure you that the only part of school-life that is quiet is the BLOG!  Life in School and outside on our side continues to be vibrant, ever-changing and filled with newness.

Our staff has been working hard to expand opportunities for PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, and you can read our FRONT PAGE website stories to get a flavour for insights into some of the adventures that we've been able to provide for our students.  There have been skating, curling, bowling, and walking stories in abundance - and with four and a half months left in the school year, there will be many more to come.

On our building site, January was consumed with a visible transition with the removal of the forming materials and containers,  finishing of the roof pouring this past week, and the beginning of the framing for soon-to-be-installed windows.  Insulation has begun to arrive in huge bundles and some has been installed on the south facing walls.

Now we can actually see through the window frames from the south to the northern most classrooms, and the resource area on the east wall of the school is now boldly open and causing much excitement as we all are envisioning what is to come.

We will include some photos from January over the weekend, and then this coming week, I'll get some photos of 'up close' shots.

The School is hosting its annual ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, Monday the 16 of February for all new and returning parents.  There will be a presentation by our building committee included in the meeting. 

We will be reaching our ONE YEAR mark this coming week - thanks to everyone who is working hard to see this big task completed.

 

 

 

2015 - The Year of the New School!

My last entry in December showed the preparation for pouring concrete for the roof of our new school, and on December 18, the vast majority of the roof pour was successfully completed.  Over the past three weeks, there has been a combination of very wet and dry days - and the final pour of concrete will take place on January 14, 2015.
According to the contractors, soon after the interior supporting polls will be removed next, and then a flurry of inside work will really intensify.

Over the holidays, a very small group of us had a 'tour' of the inside of the school - and we were all a bit awed to be walking on the three floors, seeing how the layout actually 'feels' from the inside, and taking in the awesome views from the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building.

Last night, we hosted our annual "Interested New Parents" meeting - and it was so wonderful to be able to share with potential new families that we will be able to add a 2nd Kindergarten class for the Fall of 2015.  Seeing the faces of eager, expectant and hopeful parents knowing that we will be able to meet many of their dreams for Catholic education really touched me deeply - it was one of the many signs we've been given that affirms why we are building a "SCHOOL ALL BRIGHT AND NEW". 

Thank you everyone for your support.

Construction photos

St. Augustine School photos for the week ending December 13, 2014.


Shoring tower being lowered down to Level 1 west at totem area that will support the roof deck forms.



Level 1 west has the forms and shoring removed and clean up being done.



Lowering electrical switch gear panels that arrived earlier than expected down to basement level.



Electrical switch gear is being placed into basement awaiting housekeeping pad placement next week.



Steel stud framing and door frames are being installed on Level 1 east.



Radiant manifold cabinets being installed to walls on the Level 1 east area as framing progresses.



Laying out and setting base form plates for the skylight block out on east side roof. Embeds being installed and clean up prior to oiling deck. The deck is nearly ready for rebar to commence.



West end of east side slab edge band being worked on and just past is the west side roof that was previously cast.

Faithful supporters and new families

came to school after our 9:00 and 11:00 am Masses for a 'visual tour' hosted by our Nick Maile.  The contractors had pulled down the screening to allow for a better view. Nick explained how some key decisions around construction were made, and highlighted some of the exciting features of our new school.

This weekend, we were blessed to have three families tell their compelling stories about their connections to our Parish and School - and those of us in the congregation were again inspired to pray, commit our time, and offer anew or again our financial support of this amazing project.

Thank you to everyone who supported our FALL CAMPAIGN - we couldn't have done it without everyone's concerted efforts.