Update July 27, 2011

Great meeting at the construction trailer today. I'm sure you have seen, as you drive by, that there are LOTS of workers. At the safety meeting this week there were over 140 workers signed in. They are busy, busy, busy.

Here are a few highlights of the status:

• 2 landscaping crews working - irrigation and grading/preparation teams


• will be sodding and hydramulching soon and will water the new grass as they have been watering the trees


• all the sidewalks are finished and they are caulking them as well as the parking lot pavement


• the site fencing is close to completion


• all the canopies for the bus drive and the front drive are on the site and will be up within about 2 weeks


• the Memory Brick bench has been built in the garden area to the south of the library


• 95% of the drywall work is complete


• once drywall is complete they are following with prime coats of paint and ceiling grid...they really look like rooms!


• some carpet has been laid in the the 2, 3, 4, 5 grade areas


• library furniture will be delivered in about 2 weeks


• the front tower is almost complete - needs a roof and glass

WOW! I'll be meeting soon to begin the discussion about moving plans and move in date.

Walk Through of New Building on June 3

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!!!

Status of our project

New Meadow Wood Elementary School: School Replacement (68314 – 2007 Bond)
Construction Team: SHW Group Architects
Satterfield & Pontikes
SBISD P.M. – M. Ashley
Project Timeline: Bid date: 6/24/2010
Board approval date: 7/27/2010
Scheduled Completion date: 11/01/2011
Regular Construction Meeting – Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.

Percent of Work Completed
Overall Project Completion – Construction phase 60% – the project is currently on schedule.

Site utilities – 95%
Sidewalks – 95%
Concrete polishing – 30%
Roofing – 85%
Exterior plaster – 75%
Building HVAC Rough-in – 75%
Building electrical Rough-in – 75%
Building plumbing Rough-in – 85%
Building sprinkler rough-in – 65%
Masonry CMU – 90%
Masonry Brick – 65%
Windows – 55%
Interior drywall framing – 50%
Interior drywall one side – 30%

Current work includes: continuing roofing cap sheet, masonry, exterior plaster, window installation, interior drywall framing, interior drywall one siding and the MEP rough-in.

Two week projection includes: Complete installation of the electrical gear, commence second side drywall and the low voltage rough-in. Much of the site has been turned over to the landscaper and he is beginning his work.

Inside the New SBISD Transition Site

Update on Construction

Things are really going quickly at the new MWE. Can you believe I just had the first meeting to start planning the move back??? WOW!

I didn't want anyone to get worried when you start to see some serious tree trimming going on in the front of the site. Satterfield and Pontikes brought out an arborist to check on the condition of our beautiful oak trees and to get advise from the arborist. The arborist has recommended some big cutbacks to the trees to preserve their long term health. He has marked branches to be trimmed and they will begin the trimming in the next few weeks.

Things are still on schedule for the completion date of 11/01/2011.
Here is a quick look at the percent of work completed.
Overall Project Completion – Construction phase 29% – the project is currently on schedule.
Site utilities – 90%
Paving prep – 99%
Paving concrete – 95%
Sidewalks – 70%
Grade beams – 95%
Under slab utilities – 85%
Slab-on-grade – 90%
Steel deliveries – 90%
Steel Erection – 25%
Covered play structure – 95%
Current work includes: continuing site utilities, paving prep, grade beams, slab-on-grade,
sidewalks, and steel deliveries and erection.
Two week projection includes: Complete paving, grade beams, and slab-on-grade. Commence
masonry demolition at existing Kindergarten and Library buildings.

Historical Memory Bricks On Sale...ending soon

We have to turn in our orders to the brick company soon to have the engraved bricks ready to go deliver to the contractor. These engraved bricks will be used to building a bench or short wall in the garden outside the library of the new school.

What a great memory for your children! This are bricks from the original 1964 cafeteria building. The historical brick feature in the garden should be there for the next 50 years at least...until they need to build a new school again.

The funds generated from the sales will help fund faculty staff development, technology enhancements and the purchase of instructional materials.

You can print an order form from this link. Get your orders turned in by February 15, 2011, to have your families brick at the new school.

If you are unable to download the order form, please call Judy Dean at 713-251-6200. She can fax you an order form or you can come by our transition location to pick one up.

Steel is Going Up Fast

Wow! This is the progress since Tuesday. I'm anxious for this to continue so we can see the building take shape.

Our steel is gray. Is this strange? Most buildings seem to have reddish/rustish colored steel. I've never seen gray. It almost seems to have a painted coating on it. Maybe our steel is special and better than usual...any thoughts?

I'm sure you can see that they are working on the two story portion. In that part of the building 2nd and 3rd grades will be on the first floor and 4th and 5th grades will be on the second floor. There will be stairs inside the building and a back stairway that faces SFMS.

The other part you can see is the covered hardtop which is behind the gym.