Update From Our Principal

As we wind down the first semester, we are planning on more moving in preparation for the third phase of our renovation.  The new hallway that runs adjacent to Clays Mill Road will be finished with over half of the rooms ready to be used.   Ms. Hatfield (kindergarten), Ms. Turner (kindergarten), Ms. Sowers (kindergarten/1^stgrade), and Ms. Hester (music) will be moving to the new hallway.  Their classes will begin meeting in their new rooms when we return from winter break.  The opening of this new hallway is particularly exciting because it allows us to once again move our bus riders through the original back doors again.  Our main office will also be moving to a temporary location on the first floor.  As you walk in our  main entrance you will find our new temporary  office in the first room on the left.  This office space will eventually be used as a classroom when the renovation is complete.   Hopefully our new kitchen will be fully operational as we begin the second semester.  We will be making changes to our arrival and dismissal procedures as we begin the next phase of renovation.  Please continue to read your CME Happenings and watch for written correspondence in your child’s backpack.        -Mrs. Smith, Principal

Exciting Additions to the Classrooms

For our construction team, Thanksgiving break was short.  While we were enjoying our five consecutive days off, the building was very busy.  In the classrooms, cabinets and cubbies were installed and tile was laid.  Early this morning, they began to hang the doors. 

Each classroom will have a bulletin board beside its entryway. 

New woodgrain doors are being hung today. 


ORIGINAL CLASSROOMS

New cabinets and cubbies have been installed in all of the classrooms.  The tile has been laid in most rooms.    This view is what would have been the old closets.  There are 28 cubbies and spaces for coats and backpacks. 

This is the back wall which will now be the main area for teaching.  The teacher area is on the left.  The covered board is a bulletin board. 

This is the area that used to have the heating/AC unit.  The computers will now be tabled there under the bulletin board. 

This is the front wall that used to have the white boards.  It will now be the back of the room. This is a white board.  

The entry into the room will look different than it originally did.

New Classrooms

This is the wall beside the door.  Notice that there are only 16 cubbies on this wall, the rest are on the other side. 

This is the wall that is formerly where the sink and cabinets were.  The teacher area is on the left.  The covered section is a bulletin board. 

The area between the windows is not wired for computers in the new room. 

This is what was formerly the front teaching area.  Now it will have the computer drops and the remaining 12 cubbies. 

This is a view of the entrance to the new rooms.

Resource Room

The smaller resource rooms will have a teacher cabinet but no sink area. 

One wall has a double white board. 

The opposite wall has a bulletin board. 

This is the cabinet system for each classroom.  The front hallway accent color is blue.  So the embellishment over the door, accent tiles in the hall, and cabinet facings will be blue.  The other halls will be yellow or green. 

The teacher cabinet

The inside of the teacher cabinet. 

Teachers, you can make sure you always look presentable for your students.  This mirror comes complete with a tray. 

These are the cubbies and coat/backpack hooks. 

Nighttime Deliveries

If you hang out around CME long enough you just might see anything including late-night deliveries.  A semi truck pulled in and men begain unloading cabinetry into the building. 

A large teacher cabinet was unloaded off the truck. 

Smaller cabinets were brought in through the doorway. 

Cabinetry was being moved into the first floor classroom that will be the temporary office. 

Outside Work

The outside work on the new hallway has not been as dramatic since the brickwork was completed.  The roof has been the busiest area as the finishing process is completed.  The front entrance area has had new footers installed for the walls that will be located where the current front walls are. 

Gravel has been placed around the end of the building after the brickwork was completed. 

Worker Justin models the safety harness that workers are required to wear when working on the roof. 

Ditches for the new footers were being dug.

New footers



A new footer outside the existing front door. 



At the end of the day workers make sure to clean up the parking lot before they leave. 

Kitchen Update

The progress on the kitchen is slow but steady.  The work on the roof is hard to see but very necessary.  Inside the kitchen is not very obvious but will pick up speed when the roof is complete. 

The masons completed the walls on the outside portico on the back of the kitchen. 

A large heater has been running inside the kitchen to make sure the kitchen is all dried out as they continue working. 

An asphalt kettle puts off a pungent odor as work on the kitchen roof continues over the weekend. 

Worker Josh hangs a new door that leads to the serving line of the kitchen.  The doors are a woodgrain as will all the classroom doors in the building. 

Life in the Village

Rain is a big inconvenience for those of use who "live" in the village at CME.  We are very fortunate that Keeneland was kind enough to donate umbrellas for our classes to use.  We store our umbrellas in 5 gallon buckets that catch all of the water runoff.  But if we don't make sure and dry them out then they can begin to have a very unappealling odor.  So......after the rain, you may see this out on our decks. 



Umbrellas, boots, and buckets drying out after a day of rain.



Inside the Classrooms

For the teachers and staff at CME, real progress will be felt on our renovation when the classrooms begin to take shape.  This week the construction team has begun to hang white boards and bulletin boards in the classrooms. 


The base for the lighting is being installed along with the ceiling tile tracks. 

This is a small whiteboard (blue is protective plastic) that is in one of the original rooms.  It is in the center of the right wall as you come in to the room. 

 This white board / bulletin board combination is in one of the original rooms on the far back wall.  The teacher station will be to the left of the white board. 

 This white board / bulletin board combination is in one of the new classrooms.  It is on the side wall farthest from the door.  Another small white board is installed on the opposite wall. 

This is how the new windows will open into the classrooms. 

Lots of Updates

It has been a busy place around CME over the last couple of weeks.  There has been quite a bit of work completed that you can't actually see such as wiring and piping in the ceilings.  Other things are very obvious such as the HVAC units on the roof and paint on the walls. 


KITCHEN

Worker Hunter watches as his fellow worker makes sure the concrete forms are level.

Workers Hunter and Josh spread concrete for the footers outside the back door of the kitchen.



 

Brick walls have been built as part of a covered area that will be outside the back kitchen door. 

OUTSIDE

If you happen to drive by, you will see that the building looks as if it being attacked at every angle.  The current demolition area is the main front entrance.  They are laying concrete for footers that will hold walls on the new addition. 

 Workers are actually washing the brick.



The new HVAC units as seen from the back side of the front hallway.

Standing stately amidst the chaos, the gazebo holds strong so that it may become a part of the new building. 

 Inside the New Hallway


There have been many workers inside the new hallway.  Electricity, HVAC, brickwork, plumbing, and paint have been the focus over the last week.  

 



Workers are installing the tracking for the ceiling tiles in the front hallway. 

  


This worker is soldering copper piping together. 




This is the embellishment with white primer. 




This is the embellishment with its coating of blue paint.