Valentine's Day Collages

I walked into the room, paying close attention to the projects that the children were completing. Spread out around the children were strips of pink, red and white paper with covered with countless words. On the various strips of paper the children had written words like Love, Mom, Dad, Fun, and Happiness. As they continued with their task, the children glued the strips onto a paper which contained the outline of a heart. When they were finished they had pretty Valentine’s Day collages to present to their parents.

My mind couldn’t help but turn back the time and think of what type of words my children would have written on the strips of paper. This year I didn’t have small children to make heart shaped crafts for me for Valentine’s Day. Things change, people age and so do our surroundings.

As we are all acutely aware, the Columbia School District facilities have aged over time. The Facilities Improvement Team spent last winter, spring and summer analyzing and reanalyzing areas of the school buildings which had aged and needed to be remodeled or replaced. The overview of the areas were plainly revealed in our statement of request to improve the schools to make them safe, warm, dry and smart for our students. Details of the projects were contained in our analysis of the buildings and our formal request to the Michigan State Department of Treasury.

Our projects included remodeling, equipping, and reequipping all four school buildings. The analysis focused on providing elements which would enhance the safety of our students, staff, parents and community members. The safety elements included secure entry vestibules, enhanced and redesigned parking and drop off areas, and redesigned security camera system. Other safety elements included equipping the buildings with some updated furnishings, lockers and outdoor areas.

No one can disagree with two of the top priorities: remodeling our heating systems and replacing the roofs on all buildings: The warm and dry portion of our bond issue. As we continue on in the planning process we are working on reviewing all of the items which were analyzed during the past year. We are currently in the process of planning for initial site work and roofing which is included in Phase 1. These projects will be included in initial bid packages which will go out to area contractors in March. Later this year, we will begin diligently reviewing needs within the buildings including heating systems, furnishings and technology. If you have any questions, or hear something you may question, please don’t hesitate to email me at pam.campbell@myeagles.org or call at 5175926641. Just like the children who presented their parents with their very best effort, your Columbia School District team of board members, administrators, teachers and steering committee members want to present the community members with a finished product that is a functional, excellent learning environment for our students.