It's the Little Things In Life...

See more construction progress in the slideshow below!

It was a week of little, but important, things. We spent a great deal of time on the site and made choices and changes. Here is a brief, but incomplete list:

1. We chose the paint colors- it is a surprise, but we think that you will love the finished product.

2. We chose the hardware - who knew there were so many doorknob choices??.

3. We figured out the "key map." That is a complicated task when you think about five buildings.

4. We worked out the "electrical map." That means things like outlets and switches.

5. We realized that one building only has windows on one side overlooking the dumpster. So... we added some windows and moved some others.

6. We added some more windows in the Middler Building.

7. We rerouted a part of the fence.

8. We chose the roofing tiles.

We hope that you have had a chance to visit the site. What you are seeing is the Administration Building closest to the road that is roofed and sided. The big building in back is the Preschool Building. Between those two buildings is the location of the Kitchen and Gross Motor Room. The Kitchen Building will begin to be framed this week. On the left side of the campus as you look at it from the road is the Middler Building. Still missing is the future Infant Building. It will be right in the middle close to the road. It will be the last to be completed.

We had a long conversation with the builders about our timing and they are saying that we can begin to landscape in October. We should receive what is called a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy, or a TCO in November. We can begin to load supplies into the building once we have our TCO. We are expecting a Certificate of Occupancy, or a CO in December.

Our plan is to have our currently enrolled children begin to move over to the new campus for "try outs" in December. We will open the new campus on Monday,
January 4,2010 to all new students.

WE WILL GIVE YOU A NOTICE OF OFFICIAL ENROLLMENT DATE AS SOON AS WE HAVE RECEIVED TCO. Please wait to receive that from us before you give notice. We don't want anyone to give notice at their current schools until we know 100% for sure that we are ontime.

UPCOMING EVENTS
September 27th – Back to School Night from 4 – 6pm. This is a parents only event. We will begin with a large group meeting to talk about the new building and the transition as well as discuss the children’s portfolios. Everyone, including families who have not yet joined us is welcome to come for this portion. After, our current parents will be meeting with their child’s teachers for a classroom activity.

October 23rd – Fall Festival and Bonfire The Fall Festival will begin at 3:30 and will be for our currently enrolled children. We would love for everyone, including new families, alumni, future families, neighbors to join us for the bonfire that night. We will begin gathering around 6pm down at the field.

December 5th- Open House We will open up the current school from 10:00-12:00 for a meet and greet. Our HOPE is that we are able to take everyone interested on a walking tour of the new campus from 12:00-1:00. We won't be able to confirm that until we are closer to the date. This is an open house for current families, friends, and future families. We can't wait to see you all there.

Glimpse: This week's glimpse is a look into the Little School. We were sitting on the floor in the Toddler Room with a group of six children and their group leader. One of the children is newer to us and she is still very shy. Another of the children is new to us, but she has been around the school since her birth and she is not only comfortable, but rarely shy anyway. We were handing out crackers and the shy child had retreated but was watching intently as the others all came to take their crackers. We were still watching when our not-shy child walked over to us and thrust her free hand out to us with the most serious look on her face. Stuck by the boldness of her physical assertion, we giggled and handed her another cracker. She toddled herself right across the room and very gently handed the shy child the cracker. She then placed her free arm on the other child. The smile from the shy child was immediate and broad. She ate her cracker in her corner and was so pleased. We were so moved by the simple and beautiful gesture that we just knew that it had to be this week's glimpse for you. What a wonderful way to spend the day.