This was a great week on site. There were several issues still awaiting resolution including general landscaping, retention pond plantings, and lighting on the site. After much discussion with folks at the town and some of the neighbors those issues have all been solved and we have begun to purchase the plants for the site. We are buying them from a great nursery called Taylor's Nursery in Raleigh. The folks there are going out into the field this week to tag our plants where they grow. They will be deliver mid-November and then we will be doing the installation as a community. If you have any expertise in landscaping or planting and would like to help out with the planning we would love to hear from you soon.
Glimpse: We are beginning to consider the paint effects that we will use throughout the school. Because our children see the world from angles that we as adults don't usually, it is really important that our decorating encompasses the whole space and not just the standard four
walls. For instance, what will the children see when they are being changed? How will we use the ceiling spaces to inspire the children, and or to educate them? Our younger children may spend an hour a day being changed. How can we use the building in that case to enrich that time? Because our building has to have dropped in ceiling tiles in order to meet code we have thousands of squares waiting for us to be creative enough to turn them into murals. What will it all look like?
We are beginning to dream about that now. In the dining room, for instance, we think that the ceiling should look like the sky- maybe as seen through a cracked ceiling??? Or with acoustical tile clouds hanging down at different lengths to diffuse the dropped in lights?
And how about the floors? A standard vinyl tile floor can easily be painted to become the most beautiful and fanciful carpet in a matter of hours. Or a garden? Or a bridge? There is no limit to the wonder that we can create with the building if we see it as a learning tool- and we do!
If you are an artist and you would like to be a part of the planning or the execution of the painting, or if you, like us, are not artists per se, but great artistic support, and you would like to be involved on the painting days we would love to speak to you soon.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Gas? Or no Gas?
The question of the week has been Gas? Or no Gas? It has been very interesting to be present as the question of whether or not we have gas appliances and fixtures has unfolded throughout the week. The question is complex as it would seem that there are lots of pros and cons. Some of them impact our costs. Some of them impact the environment. As the conversation continued it became evident that the two perspectives would clash at several intersections and we needed to make decisions that were in the best interest of the environment WHENEVER we could afford to.
We wish that we could fast-forward our project a decade when environmentally responsible materials will be the most cost-effective to build with. In 2009 the truth is that it is VERY expensive to build a green building- sometimes ten times the cost of less eco-friendly materials.
Our answer to the builders is not all that helpful. Our answer is "Use the most eco-friendly materials that we can afford every time." It is a true shame that that is the best that we can do. The water lines were installed this week. The concrete is ready to pour and we are just waiting for dry enough weather to pour it. As soon as the concrete is finished the walls will go up. We should see the framing begin in the next week or two depending upon the weather.
We still have no new news about an opening date. We asked this week and were told that they have until December but still expect to be finished before that deadline. Weather delays are certainly not helpful at this stage. Once the walls and roofs are on we will be able to work every day regardless of the weather. We need a stretch of dry days to get there though. As we write this we are watching the sky growing darker and darker...
Glimpse: The half-day program is going to open on September 1, 2009.
We have secured the use of two classrooms at the Hillsborough United Church of Christ where our Infant Program is currently housed. The classrooms will be run in exactly the same manner as our current Middler and Preschool Rooms. We are very pleased to announce that our beloved Mr. Sean will be heading the new program and will teach the older of the two classrooms to get the program started. The other classroom will be led by Rachel Bachenheimer, currently the director of the Child Care Services Association Child Care Program. Rachel is a former Carolina Friends School, Durham Early School teacher, and CCSA technical assistant. We are thrilled to have them both as a part of our inaugural half-day classrooms.
We wish that we could fast-forward our project a decade when environmentally responsible materials will be the most cost-effective to build with. In 2009 the truth is that it is VERY expensive to build a green building- sometimes ten times the cost of less eco-friendly materials.
Our answer to the builders is not all that helpful. Our answer is "Use the most eco-friendly materials that we can afford every time." It is a true shame that that is the best that we can do. The water lines were installed this week. The concrete is ready to pour and we are just waiting for dry enough weather to pour it. As soon as the concrete is finished the walls will go up. We should see the framing begin in the next week or two depending upon the weather.
We still have no new news about an opening date. We asked this week and were told that they have until December but still expect to be finished before that deadline. Weather delays are certainly not helpful at this stage. Once the walls and roofs are on we will be able to work every day regardless of the weather. We need a stretch of dry days to get there though. As we write this we are watching the sky growing darker and darker...
Glimpse: The half-day program is going to open on September 1, 2009.
We have secured the use of two classrooms at the Hillsborough United Church of Christ where our Infant Program is currently housed. The classrooms will be run in exactly the same manner as our current Middler and Preschool Rooms. We are very pleased to announce that our beloved Mr. Sean will be heading the new program and will teach the older of the two classrooms to get the program started. The other classroom will be led by Rachel Bachenheimer, currently the director of the Child Care Services Association Child Care Program. Rachel is a former Carolina Friends School, Durham Early School teacher, and CCSA technical assistant. We are thrilled to have them both as a part of our inaugural half-day classrooms.
