On June 3, 2011, a small group of MWE faculty got to take a tour of the new building. I've got a few pictures and will try to help you visualize what you are seeing. We loved the flow and the openness of the inside. It is going to be beautiful.Here we are in the construction trailer office getting ready to go. We had to wear hard hats and safety goggles. It was fun and hot, hot, hot!!
We started off across the covered hard top to the north of the gym...that's the gym you see with the square windows. Notice the basketball goals already up on the covered hard top. There will be doors out of the back of the gym to lead to this area. Thrower Park has been reinstalled on the other side of the covered hard top - the small red play area dedicated to former Health Fitness teacher Connie Thrower.
Here we are leaving the gym and walking into the
large hallway area that allows the art room, music rooms (yes, 2 rooms) and the gym to be close to each other and all under a roof. The gym looks basically the same but is being refurbished. The
corner where we used to enter and the gym office were demolished as that is the portion that will join to the new building. The office will be on the other end of the gym. Restrooms remain the same.
We are outside the gym in front of the music
rooms. The stairs to the left will be in the music room and will lead to the back of the stage. Cool -
backstage access!!
The wall studs to the right are the walls of the art room. You can see the stairs in the distance.
Here is the stairway in the main corridor. Notice at the bottom there is a platform. This platform surrounds the bottom and goes under a bit to tie it all together. Of course, there will be rails where there are not walls and there will be a rail at the top balcony. Don't think flimsy home type rails but taller than usual and almost solid at the top balcony. It's hard to explain until you see it.
The room beyond the stairs is the science lab.
The area to the right is 2nd and 3rd grade and at the top of the stairs is 4th and 5th grades.
In this view we are standing across from the
stairs in the main corridor in front of the cafeteria
walls - the large studs on the far left. The opening to the outside is the bus drive and faculty parking lot entrance. The small door in the studs is the faculty lounge and the large opening are the 'cafeteria restrooms'.
We then went upstairs to the 4th/5th grade area. This is an adult restroom that shows the 3 colors we are using throughout the building. Each area will be a different color in the hallways and as accents in the classrooms and counter tops.
This is the outside area of the 5th grade restrooms. The sink and water fountains will be in this common area and then you'll go to the right or left into the girls' or boys' restroom areas...no doors. Don't worry. It's very private and very easy for teachers to monitor this way. We can't wait for the new bathrooms. Funny what makes us happy!!
This is a classroom. It is a fifth grade room that looks out toward the gym but all the rooms are the basically the same...3 windows, 4 walls, high ceilings....wonderful!!! I'm standing pretty far into the room so you don't get a sense of the size. We all thought it felt large.
We went down the back stairway that faces SFMS, turned left and then left again and head back inside. The sidewalk we are on goes out to the playground area behind us and ahead of us leads into the main corridor right by the library. To the left is the two story 2nd/3rd & 4th/5th wing and to the right is the 1st grade/special ed wing. This courtyard area is going to be a place for us to plant butterfly, hummingbird and vegetable gardens. We hope to partner with Urban Harvest. What a wonderful outdoor learning space.
The area you see in front of us that connects the two wings is a deep covered porch and a glass wall. This is part of the main corridor directly across from the library.
The two square post will be the wall of glass and doors that comes in from the sidewalk off the porch into the large open 'mall' area in the main corridor. From this view we are looking straight out the front of the school (the light in the distance). The studs mid picture are the back part of the administrative office and workroom. That square window will be in the principal's office to look out and see down the main corridor (YEAH!!!). To the left, not in this picture, is the library.
The next three pictures are of the library. Notice the beautiful wood ceiling. Those beams came all the way from Oregon. The far wall will be limestone inside and out with the 3 big windows.
Beautiful wooden ceiling!!
Kindergarten building. Same room configuration, less windows - the better to prevent leaks!!
This is the front foyer area. I'm looking out the front door area...standing
where the hallway goes off to the right for the first grade/special ed wing and to the left is the back of the administrative area.
This is the exit from the end of the kindergarten building to the playground. The large Texas Mosaic will be going right to the left of this entrance.
THE END!!!
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