Over the next few months, the classrooms in Kowhai Block are being upgraded so they are more modern and are better spaces for tamariki and our staff to work and learn in. While the work is happening, we plan to post regular updates so everyone can see what is happening and see the changes taking place.
Eli and Jordan were our first Bloggers, taking photos and writing a paragraph about what is happening. On the 28th August 23 Maico joined Jordan to take photos and adding to our blog.
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The fences are down around Kowahi Block and we are now seeing the final jobs being completed for the upgrade project. It is wonderful everyone can now get on the deck and have a look through the windows to see what has been happening.
Thursday 16 November 2023
Today the new heat pumps for the classrooms were delivered on site and raised up onto the roof where they will be installed outside each classroom. It is fantastic to see these on site and ready for installation.
Friday 10 November 2023
By the end of today the carpet and vinyl have all been laid with only finishing touches left to do on these jobs. The flooring really makes the spaces look tidy and closer to being completed. We are really happy with the end result, especially the poutama patterns. There is still plenty of work to do with the electricians, plumber and security contractors needing to complete their work. It is certainly looking and feeling a lot better than it has in a long time.
Monday 6 November 2023
There has been a huge amount of work that has happened between our posts. The autex wall covers have been put in place and the walls and ceilings have been painted. The colour has really brought the spaces to life. The sliding doors are now completed and fully functional, these will provide us with some flexibility as to how we use the classroom spaces. The floors have been prepared for the carpet and vinyl to begin being laid.
Friday 13 October 2023
It has been a while since our last update and there has been some significant work happening in Kowhai Block over the holiday break. The builders are coming towards the end of their work and are preparing for painters, electricians and the plumber to come in and get into their work.
The classroom spaces are really starting to take shape and we can now see how they will become more versatile with the big sliding doors between Rooms 7 & 8 and 10 & 11.
Colours have been selected for the paint in the wet areas and for the walls in the classrooms and we are waiting for final confirmation for the carpet so we can select the new carpet tile colours.
Work also began on the cleaner's rooms, with the wall between this and the old server room being removed to make this space much bigger so we can store all of our cleaning equipment in one place. The switch cabinet for our internet and phone connections has been moved to the room in front of the cleaner's cupboard and the front room that has been used for teaching groups is also being upgraded so this can be used more effectively.
Towards the end of the holidays, work moved outside with the new doors fitted. It looks like they have always been there.
We are looking forward to seeing the spaces change as the planned work continues in the coming weeks.
Wednesday 20 September 2023
Today we saw all the gib board that will be used to line walls and the aluminum framing for the sliding doors. The gib installers were cutting the gib board, getting it ready to put it on the ceiling walls. The trim for the doors is all in place and the workers were using a green laser line to keep everything in line for hanging the doors. It is great to see the new lining up in some of the spaces. There are a lot of red cables for fire sensors and the white cables for security ready to be hooked up. The server room is now nearly empty and ready for work to begin in there as well. When we move the server cabinet this will create a new space for our cleaners equipment and supplies.
Wednesday 13 September 2023
Today we saw that there has been a lot more work happening in Kowahi Block. The toilets are all the framed up and with the walls in place we can see how big they are. The old doors and windows along the deck wall have been removed and two of the rooms have new windows installed already. There is a big gap for the new doors to be installed once they arrive. The big door openings are boarded up until the new doors arrive. The builders have finished removing the windows and have replaced them with weatherboard along the back of the building.
Tuesday 05 September 2023
There was a lot to see today as there have been some big changes happening with the project.
The roofers put all the new iron on the roof to stop the leaks in Kowhai Block. There is a lot of new framing that has been put up in the classrooms around the new big doors between Room 7 and 8 as well as 10 and 11. There have also been some old doorways that have been closed off.
The new toilet areas are now all ready for inspection and once this has been done the concrete can be poured.
Some of the windows have been removed and weatherboard has been put up to cover the gaps left by these.
Jordan found some big chunks of concrete that were cut out where the new toilets are going. The concrete cylinders were really heavy and really smooth.
Wednesday 30 August 2023
Today a truck arrived at school with lots of roofing iron to replace the old iron on Kowhai Block. The truck driver used the red crane to lift the iron from the truck and onto the roof.
Monday 28 August 2023
Today Maico joined Jordan taking photos and adding to our blog. There has been a lot of progress since we last posted on Thursday last week.
There has been a huge hole cut in the wall between Rooms 7 & 8 and Rooms 10 & 11 where sliding doors will go. All of the linings have been pulled off these walls and there are some wires and cables hanging down from where the old projectors and lights used to be
The plumbers have been chopping out the concrete where the new toilets will go. It looks like hard work as the concrete is thick.
We saw Rod, one of the builders, cutting down part of the wall to make the doorway wider in Room 8.
The builders have set up Room 9 as a storeroom, workshop and office.
The framing for the new new toilet in Room 11 is up.
There is a lot of work happening in Kowhai Block.
Tuesday 22 August 2023
Today the builder have completed most of the demolition in the classrooms and have moved on to starting construction of the new toilet walls in Rooms 8, 9 and 11. This is the pink timber in the photos. They have pulled off all of the old wall linings and these are almost ready for relining.
Thursday 17 August 2023
Yesterday the plumber came through and removed the toilets, sinks and all the piping connected to the water. The old heaters were also removed. Today more demo and removal of rubbish has been happening. You can now see from Room 7 through to Room 9 where the toilets and cloak bay used to be.
In Room 7 they have been pulling down the ceiling and have deconstructed more of the old walls and cabinets. Rowan (the man in charge) came to inspect the work carried out so far. Eli pretended to break down some of the wall. All of the old cables are hanging down from where the lights were. In Room 11 they are starting to take down the walls in the toilets. On the deck there are some of the cabinets and the window that have been removed. There is a lot of dust and different materials in the rooms and on the deck.
Thursday 17 August 2023
Demolition begins
Monday 14 August 2023
The cabinets have been removed from some of the classrooms. The ones that are no good or broken are being thrown away. The carpet has been laid over with a kind of plastic and all the junk they find they put in the dumpster.
Room 7 has been worked on the most. In the other classrooms they are slowly taking apart the large cabinets with not many remaining. Everything else has already been deconstructed.
Room 9 has had a window removed so they can measure up for a new door that will go in this space.
Inside there are several wood beams that make up a low wall that are going to be cut and removed.
Initial notification of works
We are delighted to announce that after many years of planning, delays and working with the Ministry of Education and our project manager, work will begin on the Kowhai Block (Rooms 7-11) internal upgrade by Monday 21 August. While this will pose some logistical challenges for us, we are looking forward to having these spaces upgraded so our tamariki and staff have up to date and modern spaces to learn and work in. It is expected that the project will take the rest of this school year to complete. While the work is taking place classes will move to the following spaces.
Room 12 (Whaea Ana’s class will move to the library)
Room 8 (Whaea Lily’s class will move to Room 12)
Room 9 (Whaea Ruiha and Whaea Louisa’s class will move to Room 1)
This will be a change for tamariki and we will support them to make the transition to their new learning spaces.
While the work is taking place, Kowhai Block will be fenced off and inaccessible to tamariki and staff. We will post progress photos throughout the project.