New Stem Building at GGS

Great News for Monday's classes

2009-09-25T21:31:00.002+01:00

Great news !

We REALLY are in!

2009-09-24T19:19:00.006+01:00

Happy Days

We are in !

2009-09-23T21:03:00.004+01:00

Maths today! Science next week ?

Sorry for the Delay

2009-09-20T16:02:00.003+01:00

Progress is being made in many of the ancillary processes.
We have now upgraded all our ICT switching equipment in the main school cabinet and made the connections between the main building and the new Stem building.
This will be good news for all ICT users on the campus.

In addition to this we have taken delivery of our new computers for the Stem Building and are working hard in the background to complete the installation of software on these new machines.
(Thanks Mr. Calder, Mr. Elder & Mr. McGougan)
We will have an excellent provision in ICT in the new Building- especially in the brand new Graphics room.

The maths rooms are now just about fully furnished.

We have also finished installing our new phone system in the Stem Building - this is one stage of a major upgrade throughout the whole school.

We are nearly ready to move in - still some connections to be made to the science gas supply, still some ICT equipment still to be installed in the Science labs, a few pieces of furniture still to arrive and our H&S notices have still to go up.

The main hurdle that we have still to overcome is the acquisition of the legal paperwork for occupancy.
This is absolutely essential before we can really begin operations
(i.e. letting classes in)

and is something

over which the school has no control.

We know that everybody wants to get into the new building as soon as possible - we want that to but please remember that there will be some adjustments to be made even after we occupy the building.

time to recap

2009-09-14T21:13:00.002+01:00

We are still waiting for the final paperwork

2009-09-14T21:01:00.002+01:00

A bit to go -- but looking good !

2009-09-01T20:52:00.006+01:00

A bit to go --
but looking good

Graphics & Maths

Post flitting 31st August

2009-08-31T21:14:00.001+01:00

Where have all the boxes gone?
To be honest, many are still waiting to be unpacked.
The flitting was reasonably smooth due to the hard work put in by all of the staff moving to the new building. Packing all the boxes, carefully labelling them and stacking them in order paid off in the end.
We owe a vote of thanks to all involved, teaching staff, techinician, janitors and the removal firm.

We are not ready to move in yet.
We will need time to get organised, to finish our ICT installation, and to give Britspace and their subcontractors time to complete the job.
We selected our removal date on the best advice we could get and, once set, we remained committed to it to avoid further disruption to family arangements.
We need a little more time before the building becomes operational.

Preparing for the flitting

2009-08-30T17:49:00.006+01:00

There are an awful lot of boxes, equipment, furniture to be moved before we become fully operational.

Many staff have given generously of their own time to prepare for the move.

They deserve a vote of thanks.

Remember that the school is 40 years old -just imagine moving for the first time in 40 years.

Moving to into the new maths rooms will be relatively easy - Social subjects have already completed the move in the reverse direction after their original "temporary" classrooms were dismantled to make way for the new building.

Moving from three labs on the top floor to five on the ground floor of the new building was never going to be easy. The new labs are individually smaller so as well as moving there had to re- distribution of books, equipment and bits and bobs.

Fearing that the single lift would prove to be a bottle neck during the flitting on Monday these boxes were moved from the top corridor to the ground floor on Sunday.
Any guesses how many? There are still quite a few in the labs.

We are hoping for good weather on Monday but even if the move goes as well our planning suggests it won't be the end of the story. There may be well be a hiatus for a week or so. Our main furniture and equipment deliveries will continue throughout the coming week following our flitting. We will then need to have a final look at H&S issues prior to moving pupils into the new building. We will also haveto await the normal formal paperwork.

Guess who built it.

2009-08-25T20:49:00.002+01:00

Guess who built it

Not finished yet ! - but time to look back

2009-08-24T20:03:00.007+01:00

19 th Aug pics -

2009-08-19T20:00:00.005+01:00

Science lab

Graphics room-with views

Science lab

Return to school

2009-08-19T19:44:00.002+01:00

We returned to school this week.

Tuesday was a bit fraught as we had a lot of work going on
while our new first year were arriving for their first day.

Everybody is keen to know when the building will be finished.

This construction method is much faster than a traditional build but it still takes time to finish the job properly. We want to get this right so that everyone can benefit for years to come.

We now have a very good idea of when we will be able to get into the building and we will be writing to all parents this week. ( So it has to remain secret here just now!)

Please remember that there will still be a lot to do once we start moving furniture in- and even after we move pupils in. In particular the science equipment will have to re-distributed and all the ICT equipment will need to be commissioned.
There is no getting away from the fact that there will be some knock on effect on lessons until we are fully operational.

A handsome building

2009-08-08T16:40:00.003+01:00

Views from the field

Remember to have a look at the July and June posts if you want to see the history of the building.

We have now reached the stage where we can see the whole building unobscured by scaffolding.

It looks good !

Look at this !

2009-07-31T17:48:00.006+01:00

For the last few weeks it has been difficult to see the building as it has been surrounded by scaffolding.
Two sides of the building have now been cleared of the metalwork and battens and only now can we see what an attractive building it is. The larch detail enhances the appearance of the building.
(this view looks south to the fields)

Another view (looking towards the golf course.)
This side of the new building has the girls toilets, the science store, and the technician's room. You can just about see the main entrance door which is offset from the CMLC archway.
The technical metalwork room of the old building is at the extreme left.

Other works also progresses. The alarm, tannoy, and CCTV systems are going in. Some flooring has been laid in the labs, ESA McIntosh are due to start kitting out the labs next week.

In preparation for the return of pupils some of the ancillary is being done.
Our main gate is being re-instated.
The gate pillar and wall had to be demolished to allow access for the cranes and delivery trucks

Progress continues

2009-07-22T20:12:00.004+01:00

We have a roof !

There has also been considerable progress in other matters.
The internal plaster boarding is just about complete, the external render is about to go on and this will be followed the fitting of the larch panels.
Future milestones include the digging of a new trench to take power ( and other utilities) to the new building, removing the scaffolding and regrading the tarmac surrounding the building.
The internal fit out of mechanical and electrical systems is going well with "first fit" almost complete.

Quick look inside

2009-07-17T10:14:00.010+01:00

Work is progressing well in spite of the weather.

Roof sections are ready to be fixed to the trusses,
the internal stairs are in place,
nearly ready to link the building into our main power supply.

Much needed facilities

the new Graphics room

It could only be maths

A physics lab - in the making

Roof materials in place

Roofing

2009-07-15T20:49:00.005+01:00

The holidays and family matters mean that the blog will be updated a little less frequently in the coming month.

These pictures show the roof trusses going up
( taken Friday 10th. July)
The sports centre is in the background.
The next post will show some pictures from the inside.

This picture gives an idea of the size of the building - remember that it has ten teaching spaces and additional rooms s such as toilets, staff base, technician's work space and several stores.

Holidays - for some

2009-07-07T21:50:00.005+01:00

Lifting the roof trusses

We haven't put up posts recently. There has been alot of work going on - but mainly inside the building. You willl see that the outside has been completely encircled by scaffolding.
This is in preparation for the fitting the roof and adding the rendering to the walls.

The project is going well and there is now good hope that we may have occupancy earlier than planned. However there is still a lot to be done!
In this method of construction we see sudden steps forward- especially in the last few weeks when the modules were installed.

After the roof goes up we will probably be posting more photos of the inside as the fit out proceeds.

The first sections of roof

The next stage

2009-06-29T21:51:00.005+01:00

Scaffolding awaiting its turn.

The next stage of the process is to connect the drains and then set up the scaffolding for the roofers. Once that is done the internal works can continue.

Views of the block showing the
south
facing
( towards the field )
science rooms
and the northeast corner plant room.

IT WASN'T THERE LAST WEEK

2009-06-28T20:06:00.004+01:00

It wasn't there last week.

The two storey shell of the Stem building is now in place.

It was erected between 11 am Tuesday and 11 am Friday.

Staff gearing up for the first look

Selection of photos from 23,06 STEM building

2009-06-23T20:51:00.005+01:00

It was a RED letter day.

This is a slideshow generated from thumbnails taken from pictures on the day.
We have down graded the quality of the photos quite signicantly in order to show them on the blog.
If you need a higher quality image please get in touch.

The timelapse photography shown in the previous post has also been downgraded.
We hope that you like the images so far.

today was very very BIG day

2009-06-23T19:45:00.004+01:00

Today was a BIG day

2009-06-23T19:41:00.000+01:00

Loaded and ready to move North

2009-06-19T21:19:00.001+01:00

Progress

2009-06-19T20:49:00.003+01:00

We are making good progress- even though the traditional 4 seasons in a day doesn't always help.

Today's pictures shows the latest pads being put in place.
The large concrete area is the the lift bay.
The crane is due to arrive and set up on Tuesday with the first of the modules being put in place the same day. For Health & Safety reasons there will be several changes to the site boundaries over the weekend.

Concrete signs of progress

2009-06-17T21:10:00.007+01:00

We are well into the building phase now.

Wooden shutters are used to form the concrete pads which will support the new building.

We expect the crane to arrive on Tuesday morning with the first of the factory built modules following soon after. One consequence of this is that from Tuesday we will have to close our car park to both staff and visitors.

Drain Diversion Complete

2009-06-13T17:35:00.002+01:00

We are moving on to the next stage of the project.
The diversion of the storm drain and sewer is now complete and the site has been cleared. In the coming week we will make the concrete pads on to which the modules will be placed by the crane.
51 pads to be done - fingers crossed that we can keep on schedule.

A selection of the latest pics from Britspace

2009-06-11T21:39:00.004+01:00

Pics from Britspace Good to see the "Grantown" labels on finished modules.

On going work - largely unseen

2009-06-11T21:17:00.003+01:00

Ground works continue - but so do other preparatory activities.
This week the school representative met with the project manager and the Education Estates Officer to identify the resources which would go into the building once it was complete. We now have a fair idea of the equipment ( especially for ICT) that will go into the building - and its impressive. Pupils will be well served.
Meanwhile on the ground..........

Work continues -at a frantic pace!

2009-06-08T19:19:00.004+01:00

It has been a good week!

2009-06-05T22:00:00.010+01:00

As well as having the turf cutting ceremony we have also seen the establishment of the site offices and facilities. The ground works are progressing well with near completion of the pipe run for the sewer diversion.

The school campus is becoming a bit cramped - and it will get worse as the project progresses.
The return of the senior students from Study leave next week will be a real test.
The new timetable uses every available space
.

At the factory

2009-06-03T21:55:00.006+01:00

The ground works on the school campus are well under way now.
However even more work is being done off site in the Britspace factory.
Here is a sample of pictures provided by Britspace.

More photos on the school site.

Turf Cutting Ceremony

2009-06-02T22:26:00.004+01:00

The ceremonial part of the week went off very well indeed.
Greatly cheered by some by excellent piping the assembly of guests and officials watched on as Jaci Douglas weilded the spade.
The event was made even more poignant with not one - not two - but three of Grantown Grammar's Headteachers being present.
Jaci paid warm tribute to council officials who hade identified the need and come up with a solution, thanked the pupils and staff for their tolerance of a difficult situation and their willingness to work with major upheaval while the work progresses.

So what is it going to look like?

2009-06-01T20:55:00.004+01:00

I know that many of you have been wondering about this so here is an illustration.

Spot the difference

2009-05-30T13:00:00.011+01:00

Can you spot the difference ?

How is our campus now different from this satellite picture from Google? Which buildings have gone ? Which new buildings are already in place? What change has taken place in the main building?
Can you use the changes to date when the picture was actually taken? ( Clue is Music!)

View Larger Map

Work in Progress

2009-05-30T12:18:00.001+01:00

Although we have not seen a tremendous amount of progress on site, everyone should remember that the construction method being used ( modular construction) means that a lot of the work takes place off site at the contractor's factory.
There are advantages in this notably the fact that the work on construction of the modules has been progressing at a sharp rate although site work was at a standstill for a period.
Watch out for posts showing our modules in construction. Have a look here if you aren't familiar with this process.

New Stem Building at GGS

2009-05-30T11:55:00.001+01:00

The waiting is over !
The work has now started on actual construction.

This means that from today onwards we will have contractors on site continuously.

The delay in the works has not been all bad news. it has meant that we have had a good run at the SQA examinations without too much disruption.
We will take care that the remaining examinations take place away from noise as far as possible.

Other changes to our operations ( due to H&S requirements) include restrictions on pupil movements. As the work progresses we will have to review pedestran and vehicle traffic flows.
We simply don't want any one to get in the way of one of these.

The first part of the construction - logically enough - is below ground level. The picture shows the start of the work in re-positioning of the drains and sewers. The main sewer from the CMLC runs diagonally across the site and will have to be replaced.