We have made significant progress over the last two weeks on many different fronts. Let's go through each area:
Construction and Building
You may be wondering why there aren't any pictures. Well, unless you look up, not much has visually changed in the last two weeks. All of the work has been up in the ceiling and on the roof. The sprinkler work is done and all of the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) work has been the focus of the last two weeks. There was no HVAC system or vents in the space, so it's all being constructed from scratch. So, it's the most complicated and foundational in what we need to be comfortable, but we can't really "see" the progress.
We are still on target for the beginning of August for the completion.
We continue to purchase materials and furniture that we need for next year. The desktops, monitors and keyboards for the Computer Science and Math labs are here and waiting for their new homes. Cafe furniture, bookcases, chairs, and desks have been ordered and will arrive in two weeks. The cabinetry and signs are also on order.
Student Body
We have decided to close admissions at this time until final decisions are made with the children that are currently going through the admissions process. Our original target was 24 students and we are currently at 17 students that will be attending the Academy in the fall, with nine in 6th and 7th grades and eight in 4th and 5th grades. With the pending students, our classes would round out to 10 students in each of the 4th/5th and 6th/7th grade classes.
If you are still considering the Academy for the fall, we will consider opening a section if at least four students go through the admissions process and offered acceptance.
Schedule and Curriculum
We also finalized the schedule for both sections (4th/5th and 6th/7th) and will be communicating it to families this weekend. We continue to work on the curriculum, field trips and special events. This week Dr. M, Ms. Rachel and myself had the pleasure of seeing the labs at the Library of Congress where books are preserved and deacidified.
We also finalized our PE location and will be renting studio space from the Greater Washington Dance Center where we'll have PE on days when we can't be outside or when we need a sound system.
It has been a very busy and very productive two weeks!
Construction and Building
You may be wondering why there aren't any pictures. Well, unless you look up, not much has visually changed in the last two weeks. All of the work has been up in the ceiling and on the roof. The sprinkler work is done and all of the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) work has been the focus of the last two weeks. There was no HVAC system or vents in the space, so it's all being constructed from scratch. So, it's the most complicated and foundational in what we need to be comfortable, but we can't really "see" the progress.
We are still on target for the beginning of August for the completion.
We continue to purchase materials and furniture that we need for next year. The desktops, monitors and keyboards for the Computer Science and Math labs are here and waiting for their new homes. Cafe furniture, bookcases, chairs, and desks have been ordered and will arrive in two weeks. The cabinetry and signs are also on order.
Student Body
We have decided to close admissions at this time until final decisions are made with the children that are currently going through the admissions process. Our original target was 24 students and we are currently at 17 students that will be attending the Academy in the fall, with nine in 6th and 7th grades and eight in 4th and 5th grades. With the pending students, our classes would round out to 10 students in each of the 4th/5th and 6th/7th grade classes.
If you are still considering the Academy for the fall, we will consider opening a section if at least four students go through the admissions process and offered acceptance.
Schedule and Curriculum
We also finalized the schedule for both sections (4th/5th and 6th/7th) and will be communicating it to families this weekend. We continue to work on the curriculum, field trips and special events. This week Dr. M, Ms. Rachel and myself had the pleasure of seeing the labs at the Library of Congress where books are preserved and deacidified.
We also finalized our PE location and will be renting studio space from the Greater Washington Dance Center where we'll have PE on days when we can't be outside or when we need a sound system.
It has been a very busy and very productive two weeks!