Temporary fences are up and demolition has commenced! Since Update #3 things have certainly ramped up and we are well and truly underway now.
Appointed Building Company
Following the due diligence work required to appoint a successful building company, Metrocon was awarded the contract by Catholic Education Western Australia at the end of Week 4, with work commencing midway through Week 5. Metrocon has completed several similar refurbishment projects for CEWA over the past few years and came highly recommended by those who have worked with them in the past. Feedback received centred around the quality of their work and the strong relationship they fostered with the school throughout the contract period. So far, we have been very happy and impressed with the team Metrocon has put together to coordinate our project. We are confident that they will deliver a finished product of an extremely high standard, which will provide an outstanding teaching and learning environment that is engaging and safe for our students into the future.
Temporary Site Fencing
The fencing now in place clearly defines the boundary between the safe school space in which our children work and play each day, and the building site. Students and staff are unable to access the construction area and workers are unable to enter the school zone without signing in at the office. It has been explained to the students that they may go up to and look through the fence at the exciting work taking place, however, they are not to touch. The students have been eagerly watching the demolition work throughout the week while still remembering to follow this rule.
Kiss and Ride Entrance Arrangements
Fencing erected at the ‘kiss and ride’ driveway has enabled this service to continue as normal with only minor adaptations required. The placement of the fencing provides safe entry into the school via a new temporary pathway. Staff continue to be on duty in this area both before and after school, however, supervision has been increased, with two staff members now supervising this gate at the start and end of each school day. Kindy and Pre Primary students entering through this gate are safely escorted down to the hall by one of our Education Assistants and walked by an adult up to the gate at the end of the day.
Temporary Access Changes to our Year 1 to 6 Toilets During Week 7
As you may know from the Stage 9 plans shared previously, there is some work required in the current Year 1 to 6 toilets at the rear of the school. The scheduling of this work has been challenging, as we have continued to express a desire to maintain access to these toilets throughout as much of the project as possible. During some initial conversations, it was expressed that it may have been necessary to have temporary toilets installed on the school site for the majority of Term 4 to enable the Stage 9 project to be completed within the scheduled construction period. However, through negotiations held last week, Metrocon has been able to supply us with a plan that reduces the need for temporary toilets to just three days, without jeopardising our 17th December completion date.
The plan created involves shutting off access to the current Year 1 to 6 toilets from Wednesday, 1st September through until Monday, 6th September. Four temporary toilets will be delivered and set up on Tuesday afternoon under the verandah outside the hall. These toilets will provide, in addition to the hall toilets, facilities for our Year 1 to 6 students to use throughout these three days. Our Kindy and Pre Primary students will continue to use the hall toilets as per normal. A fenced off area with shade cloth will be erected to provide privacy for the students entering and exiting the toilets, cleaning of the facilities will be conducted regularly, and a staff member will be rostered on to supervise the area throughout the day. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and over the weekend, a new entry and reconfiguration of the current toilet block will take place so that our students can then continue using these facilities for the remainder of the school year.
Staff will discuss with their classes on Tuesday the changes that will occur over these three days, and then on Wednesday take them for a walk to the area to show them how to use the temporary facilities. Outside of recess and lunch periods our younger students will go to the toilets in pairs.
If you have any concerns about your child accessing these toilets over the three day period, please contact your child’s classroom teacher and discuss your concerns. If necessary, staff can then make individual changes to the plan if required.
As expressed in earlier communications, to hopefully address and answer questions the community may have in regards to the building program, we have continued to regularly add to and update our ‘Stage 9 Building Project Frequently Asked Questions’ page, which can be accessed via the link below.
Finally, don’t forget to check out our ‘Stage 9 Building Works Photo Gallery’ , which we continue to regularly upload photos to through the project. Currently you can view photos of the old and new Kindy, Pre Primary and Year 1 spaces as well as some of the demolition work that has already been completed.
Stage 9 Building Project Frequently Asked Questions
Stage 9 Building Works Photo Gallery
Previous Updates
Leon Bolding
Principal