School's in session!

     So much has happened in the past few months.  The morning of August 29, 2012 found the school rooms decorated and ready for the first day of school.

     Recently, some major improvements were made outside... Slopes were smoothed out and grass was planted.  The driveway entrance was paved and the driveway and parking area were improved with gravel.  Boundary lines were burned on the playing field.  Handicap parking signs were put up.  Extensions were added to the ship play-set and it is now complete with slides and swings.
     Inside, mirrors were installed in the restrooms.  The ping-pong tables were painted and four-square lines were painted on the floor in the basement.  Cabinets and a large utility sink were installed in the kitchen.
     Before we can obtain a permanent occupancy permit, the elevator needs to be installed.  Lord willing, it should be completed by the end of the year.

Completion

On August 2, a number of people showed up at the school building to install and paint shelves, finish some trim work, install partitions in the bathrooms, and paint and finish the doors.

 

 

The chalkboards have been installed as well as the vanities in the restrooms and a few bulletin boards.  Thursday there was another work night at the school to clean up inside and out in preparation for the first day of school on Wednesday, August 29.

 

The classrooms and restrooms are completed and ready for school.  We still need to install drinking fountains and lockers in the hallways, improve the parking lot, install the elevator, work on landscaping, finish the kitchen, and more. 

 

We appreciate your interest in our school.

Of Shelves, Moving, and Chalkboards

     On Wednesday, July 18, there was a work night at the new school building.  We cut and painted a whole bunch of shelves for closets...

...did odd jobs...

... and loaded up school supplies, desks, and other things from the old school building and brought them to the new school building.  There we unloaded the trailer and carried things inside to the classrooms.  Despite the rain, there were many willing helpers.

    
     This past week, the three chalkboards arrived. They were unloaded at the school building Monday night but have not yet been installed.

Progress Report

On June 14, we had a work night at school.  We washed windows, installed window screens, put up directional signs, etc.

A few weeks ago, carpet was laid in the three classrooms upstairs and in the library.  Toilets were also installed in the restrooms upstairs.  This past week, shelves for the closets were cut.

There are still a lot of things to be done like buy lockers, finish the kitchen, spread more gravel, set up chalkboards and bulletin boards, install the elevator, obtain water fountains, carpet the walls in the basement, etc. Since a number of those things can wait, we will primarily work on painting and installing the shelves, finishing the trim, installing vanities and partitions in the restrooms, and painting and finishing the doors.

Our school teachers, Matt Kratzer, Fonda Overholt, and Yvonne Stoltzfus, will be coming in the end of July to organize and put their new classrooms in order.  We are hoping to have a lot of work done by the time they come.

We are in!

In the past few weeks, progress has continued in the new school building.  A ship playset was donated to the school by a generous local neighbor and was installed at the school on May 31.

We have now relocated from this building...

 ...to this building! Praise the Lord!

     

 

The school's basement is not finished yet and the upstairs still needs some work.  Last week the building was inspected and we were granted a temporary occupancy permit!  On Saturday night, we had work night at the new building to mop floors, clean, and set up chairs.  On June 3, the first church service was held in the new building. 

 

Thanks to each of you who has supported us in various ways.  We praise God for his awesome blessings.

More progress has been made on the school building in the past few weeks.  The restrooms downstairs are  now in working order with toilets, sinks, and running water.  Trim was installed and puttied.  Vinyl tile was laid upstairs in the hallways and restrooms.  Hand rails were put in place by the staircase.

On Wednesday, May 16 there was another work night at the new school building.  The trim was sanded and painted.  Closets and other details were painted.  A few men worked on the indoor plumbing.  A lot of clean-up work was done in preparation for our first formal service in the new school building.

Graduation was held in the basement of the new building on May 20, 2012. The building easily accommodated the 120 people in attendance.  We are hoping to have our first Sunday morning church service in the new building on June 3.

We praise God or His continual blessing and provision.

Progress...

First of all, a big apology. We have been making progress on the school building project, even though it doesn't appear that way according to this blog.  

I guess I'll attempt to give a brief update in pictures about what happened in the past year.

A crew from Ohio came out in October 2010 to lay concrete in the basement over the in-floor heating.

In February 2011, the split-faced block was completed on the outside of the building.

In February 2012, there was a work night at the church building.  Some clean-up work was done, but primarily, opinions were stated about the color of walls, tile, restroom stalls, etc. 

This spring we've been doing quite a bit of painting work inside.  With everyone working together, work gets done quickly, and the interior is beginning to look very nice.

We've also been preparing ground, sowing grass seed, spreading straw, and watching the grass grow.

I know I missed a lot of details here, but I guess this will have to do for now.  As of now, we're hoping to move into the new school building before the end of this school year.  We greatly appreciate the ways various people have shown their support throughout the past few years with sacrifices of time, money, equipment, prayers, etc.