vision 20/20 construction updates

Henrique and his masonry team placed the LAST STONE on the new building today.  Some of you may have seen this stone in the library’s little red wagon on the Plaza, or even signed your name on it with a sharpie as many of our students did. Our fourth graders, who studied masonry in their medieval guild coursework, accompanied Mr. Acton and me from the Plaza and entered the construction site with the final stone in the wagon. 

I had the frightening pleasure of riding the lift up to our masons and watching up close while Henrique carefully placed the stone.  The whole mason crew enjoyed the moment as kids cheered for them.

Once the stone was in place, the students joined together and sang our school song, Non Nobis.  It was truly a beautiful moment in Regents history that we hope your children will remember for a long time.

God is good.  All the time,

Rod Gilbert, Head of School 

P.S.  While we were placing our last stone, the last two sections of a 408-foot spire were placed on the Freedom Tower in New York City. 

P.S.S.  Our School of Rhetoric moved into their current building for their second day of class on September 11, 2001 as our nation absorbed 9/11. God bless America!

YouTube video of last stone being placed

This morning I climbed onto the roof of the K-6 Academic Building and took some pictures. You can see where the scaffolding was removed from the new SOR building this weekend.   Lo and behold - the stonework face is beginning to show.  It is majestic to say the least!

Standing on the roof this morning reminded me of a prayer in Jeremiah 29.  The people of God are called to pray that their city will flourish.  When I look across the horizon and see our new building and the Austin skyline in the background, I am reminded that we are building this school for the glory of God and service of mankind.  We pray that our Lord's glory be manifested like a light, and that the city of Austin will flourish this day and for many ages to come!  -- Rod Gilbert, Head of School

In the first week of December the crew installed over fifty windows and delivered the metal studs for the interior walls.  On Monday (12/10) the first interior walls were installed.  Our archways are complete and the limestone on the front of the building reached above the second floor windows.  Fire water lines and bathroom plumbing are in their first stages of installment.  Ductwork and HVAC units can be seen hanging from the ceilings.  Due to the diligent work and dry skies in November we have decreased our “days behind” to about 20 days or less.  We will start the first day of the 2013-14 school year on Tuesday, September 3^rd.  Update on West Campus:  We are working through details with the city staff regarding the arrangement of the fields and water quality issues on the west campus.  So, continue to pray for us as we negotiate baseball/multi-purpose field objectives.

We had a tremendous response to the Saturday Blessing Tour and everyone had a wonderful time. With Sharpies in hand, over 120 Regents parents and staff wrote prayers and blessings on the concrete and steel. We enjoyed culinary delights as music filled the room by a four-string quartet led by Regents parent Sandy Yamamoto. Mr. Archer added some Old Testament flare as he blew the shofar (a ritualistic ram’s horn made by a rabbi). We ended the evening with a candlelight prayer time, a blessing of dedication read by Steve Leach (alumni dad), and a singing of Non Nobis. Thanks to Michelle Bolke and Mary Jane Shorman and their entire crew!!!

October 5, 2012

Folly lives in the hearts of the teachers as steel rises in the background. In a funny moment, Mr. Carlisle, Mr. Corley, Mr. Pope and Mr. Shufflebarger took a break to get in touch with their boyhood. In our first week of steel construction on the new SOR Building, we were all mesmerized by the precision and efficiency of the crew. In the background you can see the steel beams that shape the second floor of the new building. And, if you have not noticed yet, you can also see the spires of steel over the trees from the Plaza.


See you tonight at Homecoming!!! Go Knights!!!

Rod Gilbert
Head of School

As I watched the entire School of Rhetoric slab being poured Monday morning, it took a lot of my energy to NOT write in the wet cement. Thankfully, Mr. Wood was with me and I behaved. It was an exciting development.

Below are two pictures that give you an idea of the event. The first picture shows the concrete pump that spread 25 loads of cement evenly onto the slab. Near the top of that picture you can see the planet Venus at about 6:15am. The second picture was taken from the roof of the current School of Rhetoric Building. The picture reminds me of a scene from “Close Encounters of a Third Kind.”

Now we are told that steel is on its way from Houston. By next Monday, we will start the structure. Since the archways in the front are load-bearing, the masons will start their work soon after the steel work begins. This new development with steel and stones reminds me that we need to remember SAFETY.

Please continue to encourage your children and teens to not cross into construction areas. They are all fenced off, but a little reminder is good for everyone. Thanks to everyone for your involvement and prayers as we continue to partner together in our Vision 20/20 project.

--Rod Gilbert, Head of School

APPROVED by the City of Austin and Ready for Next Week

• School of Logic Cottage Campus – certificate of occupancy approved – today
• School of Rhetoric additional cottage – certificate of occupancy approved – today
• School of Rhetoric Drama Room remodel – city approval gained – today
• Parking Lot expansion and redesign – approved and planting final trees
• Travis Country Circle expansion – completed and approved by city – yesterday
• Starting on time - priceless

Ongoing Strategic Conversation (as expected)

West Campus floodplain/athletic fields – in process with city and our Construction Development Committee (CDC). We will keep you posted in our Construction e-notify updates. Thanks for praying for this next step in Phase 1 of Vision 20/20.

A Celebration!!!

Thanks for your patience as we endure this final push and longer walks from across the street.   As you make the walk from the dusty field, take a moment to pray for your school. These lovely teachers are prepping their rooms and readying their hearts in order to lead your children. Thank you for humbly embracing these inconveniences as we CELEBRATE the incredible summer construction project that is coming to a successful conclusion. 

--Rod Gilbert, Head of School

Regents Parking Update – Asphalt Coming

Exciting update:  No parking or vehicle access to the main campus until further notice starting 6am Thursday, August 16th.  Everyone who comes to the campus must park on the Practice Field that is near the Nature Center.  Please DO NOT park on Republic of Texas or Travis Green Drive.

Our team has marked the parking area for you.  Pedestrians cross the street near the end zone and walk through the football field.  Why?  We are starting to lay asphalt early Thursday morning and the process will take several days.  We will send an update when the parking plan changes. 


Thank you for your patience and prayers,

Rod Gilbert

Mr. Ron Wood, our CFO/COO, made an interesting discovery today with one of our construction crew. Arnold Mendez is completing some work in our current high school building, and he told Mr. Wood that he was on the team that built our gymnasium in 1999-2000. They are pictured together below. Twelve years later, Arnold represents one of over fifty crew members who are working diligently to prepare the campus for our students. Thanks to Arnold and all the crews!!

Some of you have been asking questions about the new parking lot islands, so we took a picture of them today being filled with rich topsoil. All of the new islands will be irrigated and landscaped with small trees. To help you prepare for the school year, next week we will post a diagram of the parking lot flow on our website.

On a lighter note, camera footage captured two ladies on a bulldozer. Upon closer review, we discovered that it was our very own Liz Benigno and Carol Vaughn. Rest assured the campus construction is in good hands with these two at the forefront.

Sincerely,

Rod Gilbert

As shown in the photos below, the modular buildings (our 'Cottages') were recently pulled to their new location near the current School of Rhetoric building. Crews are now resetting their footings and preparing to install our porches and ramps. Thankfully, we are able to save resources by using a lot of the wood from the previous porches.

Much concrete has been poured as the main parking lot takes shape, and the curbs of the new alignment can be easily identified. Two weeks ago the parking lot looked like a Monster Truck mud pit. Now it looks like a parking lot! When ready, we will lay asphalt for the lot and gain about 70 more spaces than we previously had. It is an amazing sight to see how efficiently the workers move around their equipment, and we are grateful for their diligent work.

Sincerely,

Rod Gilbert