These are renovation activities for the week of April 28:

• Rebar installation for new building footings. Large trucks with rebar and other bulky materials will be coming in through Flood Ave. This will continue through the end of the year.
• Continue installation of underground piping for utilities (water, sewer, electrical, etc).
• Concrete pours (depending on weather).
  

You may have noticed the new backflow preventer assembly installed on the corner or Flood and Foerster. If you’re curious about this assembly, please visit the FAQ page.

We continue to ask the contractor to be courteous and avoid blocking neighboring driveways and they are also reminded of the site work hours.

Mr. Simard has asked for all construction noise to stop during intake. The contractor has been directed to stop between the hours of 8:35 and 8:50 a.m. The project manager will be on the yard with the children at 8:40 a.m. every morning this week to ensure that the crew complies.

Activities for next week include:

• Continue to work on the new building foundations.
  
• Start to install underground piping for utilities (water, sewer, electrical, etc). 
  
• Additional excavation to install the building footings.
  

Students have shown a lot of interest and excitement about the construction activities. Project Manager Faby Guillen-Urfer has visited some classrooms to answer kid’s questions regarding the project and to explain current activity. Teachers can request that Faby make a visit to their classroom through Virginia in the office. 

Some updates from the construction manager:

• The crew is continuing work on the new building foundations.
  
• Large equipment compacting the soils is on site. 
  
• More excavation will be happening soon to install the building footings.
  
• The fence configuration will stay as is until the end of the calendar year.
  
• New orange lines have been painted across the yard and the basketball hoops were relocated to a more suitable location.
  
• Bike racks have been relocated to the underside of the metal stairs.
  
• It's been pretty loud at times and the good news is that during testing days, no noise will be allowed during testing hours.
  
• Noise limits are also observed during school hours. The contractor tries to make the most noise before classes start and after they’re done. 
  

If you're still having trouble finding parking, one resource to investigate is  School Pool, a free public service that coordinates carpooling to school:  https://www.schoolpool.511.org

Well, the renovation is really under way! 

During the construction project, recess will also remain the same as it has been for the past few weeks.  We now have three rotations for students on the yard (K-1, 2-3, 4-5). Because there are fewer students on the yard, they will play in the remaining space and on the structure. So far reports have been favorable about the smaller lunch cohorts and we may continue this schedule even after the yard is fully accessible. 

Parking was definitely scarce this morning so remember, drop off will remain the same on the Hearst Avenue side, please use the rolling drop off if possible. The Flood side of school will be impacted by the construction, avoid using that side if possible. The entrance to the yard from Flood is not available at this time. 

Remember, a year from now we will have a beautiful new, safe and accommodating neighborhood school.

Families, staff, and faculty may have already experienced challenges with parking and drop-off/pick-up times. Unfortunately, this issue will persist during the project and we do ask that you continue to respect Sunnyside's neighbors by keeping driveways clear and following all traffic regulations.

Some tips to consider:

• Give yourself extra time. Schools still starts at 8:40 a.m!
  
• Try to carpool, walk, or take public transportation when available. 
  
• If you are driving, keep in mind that we are now sharing parking with a very large construction crew that already carpools. By 7:30 a.m., most of the parking on Flood and Hearst is occupied by the crew and surrounding residences. You will be finding parking further away from the school than usual.
  
• Due to the heavier impact on parking on surrounding streets, parking enforcement has been coming by more frequently. Note any posted parking regulations and curb your vehicle correctly.
  
• The morning drop-off area on Hearst will continue to be available. We encourage you to make use of it!
  

The crew has been hard at work over Spring Break and the changes are dramatic. The update from the project manager for next week is:

• Bungalows 107 and 108 have been removed and two brand new ones are now in place, between the play structure and bungalow 112.  Mr. Flanagan and Ms. Visalli will now enjoy leak-free, heated and cooled, newly carpeted classrooms. 
• The construction fence has been removed from around the new bungalows. 
• A new construction fence has been erected to separate the jobsite from the school yard.  This new arrangement of reduced yard space will potentially stay through the end of December 2014/early January 2015.
• The new building construction is well underway, with foundation and excavation work going on.
• Concrete trucks and pumps will be here soon (possibly the week of 4/14, depending on weather and progress).
  

Some pictures from Thursday, April 3: