Happy 2011! Have I told you how easy Photo Peach can be?
Yes, I have! It just took me all of ten minutes to upload these photos of our new BER school library being built, select music, edit captions and play it!
photopeach.com/album/x7dao5
Building a school library (2010)
All ready to share this free Web 2.0 resource with the students and staff tomorrow! Enjoy!
The temporary fence finally came down on the new school library, just after the new signage, old shade cloth and new TV aerial went up (it’s been many years since our school had a functional TV aerial!).
The beautifully-laid new concrete went unmarred by students and adults attempting to sign their name in the wet cement – but one of our playground birds managed to perform a spectacular “feet” of graffiti.
Today, the whole staff was given a walk-through of our school’s almost-completed new BER double-classroom and new BER school library. These are some comparison photos with the ones from my sneak preview of the library a few weeks ago:
Down the other end of the school, a matching building, comprising a modern double classroom, with wet areas, storerooms and a glassed-in, shared withdrawal teaching space, is almost complete! On the floor is stored some of the shelving and furnishings for the library!
Mmmm, back at the library… Mind that last step: it’s a doozy!:
As a colourblind man, I must trust my colleagues as to the colour of this door. But it’s hard to miss, whatever colour it is!
I can’t wait to get all the books and other resources out of storage. There was no time to cull books before packing (done by professional removalists, supervised by me), so I anticipate a massive and essential cull during the first few weeks of set-up.
Yesterday, as I informed an outdoor assembly of the students of the results of the 2010 CBCA Awards for Book Week, work continued on our new BER (Building the Education Revolution) school library here at Penrith Public School. They are now starting to prepare the grounds for paths and covered walkways.
Last Thursday, I had my first tour through the site, and was able to get the inside scoop! It’s really coming together in there!
These wooden boards are protecting the new glass double doors of the main entrance. Behind me, an external vestibule area – complete with a toilet (luxury!) and a staff/grade/”special programs” room – is taking shape. This meeting room has very generous storerooms, and will have a sink and an interactive whiteboard. We are getting this room because there was no way to use BER funding to overhaul the existing staffroom. Adding this area onto the library plan has given the building some character, especially when compared to the long, rickety tin box of a demountable library – which the school was so used to having around, for over two decades.
This will become the spacious library office and circulation areas.
An IWB (the second one in the building) shall be installed on the far wall, about where that ladder is standing.
I venture into my office for the first time!
Circulation, as viewed from the location of the library’s IWB.
Yes, we will still have a second door for faster exits.
Down the other end of the school, a matching building, comprising a modern double classroom, with wet areas, storerooms and a glassed-in, shared withdrawal teaching space, is almost complete!
Hand-over of the new buildings may be only about six weeks away, but I’m not holding my breath. I know that many school libraries are ordering shelving and furniture at the same time and I guess some delays will be inevitable. But the new library is really coming. We can almost smell it!
UPDATE: The second walk-through!
With all preparations made, the slab on our new school library went into place just before last weekend. The slab was laid on the Saturday and, on Thursday and Friday, most of the metal framework went into place, keeping us all amused with their satellite navigation of the girders via a whistle. Fast work!
The site of our new school library had its first concrete pour last week – despite much pouring rain!