February 2012 Update
Work on the development of the courtyard in the heart of the school has commenced and is making good progress. This work will see the development of landscaped inner courtyard that will include a sandpit, decking, planting and shade areas for gathering and for quiet play. We expect that our new courtyard will be completed by the end of March.
We have put in measures to ensure safety of students and those on the school site during the construction period. Safety fences have been erected to cordon off the construction area for safe passage to the buildings. The top court and swimming pool area is out of bounds. As the construction progresses we will have increased access to more space.
A new path has been put in for improved access to our small playground – this will be particularly welcome in the winter.
The water tank for our school community vegetable gardens has been purchased.
We are putting in a concrete pad and tank stand behind the sports shed to allow us to capture rainwater for the school gardens.
June 2011 Update
Our new classroom block is now in use and is being enjoyed by everyone who experiences it – staff, students and visitors. It is a two-storeyed block with five classrooms on each level, together with a shared space which is proving even more versatile and useful than anticipated by the architects. Students report the classrooms are snug and warm on these cold winter days.
The next project is to make good the space currently occupied by the concrete foundations of the demolished old block. This will become a courtyard which is intended to be the heart of the school. We have a three-stage landscape plan and intend to get on with stage one later in 2011. This will see the old foundations removed and new concrete laid, with provision for a future shaded performance area in front of the new classroom block.
The remaining old large block of classrooms – which currently houses Whanau Ata and some classes from Whanau Puna and Whanau Rau – is well below the standard required of a modern teaching space. We have put forward an exciting plan to the Ministry of Education to consider. If it proceeds the existing block would be demolished and progressively replaced with a modern two-storeyed block similar in concept to the one just opened. If this plan does not proceed then we will begin work to completely refurbish the old block.
As for the long-awaited school and community hall, we have applied for additional funding from the ASB Trust and expect to hear in July if we have survived the first cut. If so, we will know in October if we will receive any funding from that source. Regardless of the outcome we will build a hall. We are about to decide on a procurement method and will then put out tenders for the design. We expect to have positive progress to report on the hall before the end of 2011.
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October 2010 Update
If you visited the school during the holidays you would have seen trenching between the new building and the school gate. This work is to provide water and electrical services to the building.
The new building is progressing well. Last week the flooring slabs were put in place. This week the floor reinforcing and underwater plumbing services are being installed.
This week the Board of Trustees are meeting with a landscape architect to start on the design of the courtyard which will replace the demolished building. Development of this space will initially be basic with improvements being made over time as funds allow.
Meanwhile, we look forward to the new playground commencing early November. This new playground will be built among the trees between Rupa’s and the administration block. Many thanks to the student design playground focus group, Joel, Emma, Sian, Jonathon, Theo and Jesse who have helped with the design of this new playground.
In summary the construction of the new block is progressing well. We will continue to ensure that our students are safe throughout the construction and minimize disruption where we can.
August 2010 Update
Over the weekend the junior playground was demolished. From Wednesday 4th August the construction company will be erecting the safety fence and construction access off Hepburn St.
The building will be located where the "little adventure" junior playground currently sits.
We would like the new block to be completed before the end of year to allow us to demolish the Whanau Rau block over the summer holiday break to create a new central courtyard space for the school. The Board of Trustees will be consulting with staff and the community to develop the courtyard into an attractively landscaped outdoor teaching space and gathering point for children during lunch. Development of this space will initially be basic with improvements being made over time as funds allow.
February 2010 Update
The design of the new two-storey, 10-classroom block is now complete. Tenders for its construction will be called in early March. Construction is likely to begin towards the end of April. The building will be located where the "little adventure" junior playground currently sits. Once the new classroom block is occupied the existing Whanau Rau block will be demolished to create a new central courtyard space for the school. While the initial courtyard will be basic, the Board of Trustees will be consulting with staff and the community to develop a medium-term plan to have it attractively landscaped so it can be used as an outdoor teaching space, and a gathering point for children during lunch.
Meanwhile, a project to construct a new junior playground will get under way shortly. This new playground will be built among the trees between Rupas and the administration block. Finally - and at last! - as soon as the tender for the new classroom block has been signed the Board of Trustees will begin the next major building project - the long-awaited school hall. We hope to open the hall some time in 2011. We will build the hall we can afford, designed so that if expansion is needed in future and the funds are available, the building can be extended. By the end of 2011 the school will look very different!
December 2009 Update
We are continuing the design process of our new classroom block and are well advanced in the design for a two storied, 10 classroom building. The Board of Trustees intends to show concept plans for this new building, as well as a long term Master Plan for future building projects (including a hall), early in 2010. We are hoping to start construction of the new block in the autumn with a completion date of early spring.
April 2009 Update
The Board of Trustees is delighted to announce that we have instructed our property management company to begin the process of building a new permanent classroom block. In the first instance, this means tendering for an architect. The block is likely to be two-storeyed and will contain at least eight classrooms. Last year the Ministry of Education granted us funding for two additional classrooms to accommodate our roll growth, plus funding for an additional classroom to achieve the required reduced teacher:pupil ratio in the junior school. The Ministry has also recently confirmed funding to allow us to demolish the junior school block – which houses Whanau Rau – and to build equivalent classroom space to replace it.
Our intention is to build a new permanent classroom block first. We will then be able to move the classes currently housed in the junior block before demolishing the block. This will create space for us to build a hall right in the centre of the school. (The alternative sequence – demolish the junior block and then build a new block in its place – would have required us to bring an additional six relocatable classrooms onto the school grounds, entirely covering the field.) The board’s intention is to have the new classroom block completed by mid-2010, and to have a successful tenderer for the hall in place to begin construction as soon as demolition of the junior block is complete. Once we are further down the track with the classroom design process we will hold a parent meeting to present more information.
February 2009 Update
On the property front the Board of Trustees has been making very good progress.
New grass planting has improved the quality of the school field. We have enclosed the inner quad by the staffroom and community room to give excellent indoor – outdoor flow off these rooms, accommodating growth of staff numbers. This quad is also useful for after-school care, and to welcome the increasing number of visits to school by education groups from all over the world.
Emma’s classroom was also renovated in the Christmas holidays, with walls knocked out and refitted with new flooring and wall coverings. The canopy over Ann and Emmas’ classrooms is being extended, giving greater cover of the inner courtyard.
A temporary classroom has been added as a fifth classroom to accommodate the growth of Whanau Puna. We were pleased to have this classroom fitted out with state of the art furniture. In the next few weeks two further temporary classrooms will be placed on the field, next to the path off Hepburn Street. These classrooms are a temporary measure, while the Board of Trustees continues to negotiate a way forward for our property provisions with the Ministry of Education. This will include developing a property plan for Freemans Bay School that includes a hall and state of the art classrooms to meet the educational needs of Freemans Bay students into the twenty-first century.