Blessed Sacrament Elementary School


Renovation 2011

Current news

On Friday February 10, 2012, Mr. Sweeney sent a message to the community:
School Air Sampling Results:
Please be aware that we have received a lab certificate with the results of the recent asbestos air sampling conducted February 1, 2012. The results indicate that no asbestos structures were found in any of the samples. The lab certificate and information are now available for your interest and awareness.

On Wednesday January 25, 2012, Mr. Sweeney sent a message to the community:
School Air Sampling:
An asbestos air sampling was conducted on Tuesday January 17, 2012 but the samples were unreadable by the lab. Another air sampling will be conducted on Wednesday February 1, 2012 during the school day and measure air quality when students and staff are present. The results from the first round of sampling are now available.

On Wednesday, December 7, 2011, Mr. Sweeney sent a message to the community:
Completion of room 102 renovation
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Please be aware that an inspection of renovated room 102 was conducted at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School today. We have determined that the room will be ready for occupancy on December 12.
Therefore, our Grade 7 class - presently in the library - is having all furnishings and classroom materials moved to classroom 102 of the 100 floor level. This is taking place on Monday, December 12, 2011.

Dependent upon the arrival time of facilities staff to move the furnishings and classroom materials, our Grade 7 class will commence studies in room 102 on Monday, December 12, or Tuesday, December 13 of next week.

On Thursday, October 20, 2011, Mr. Sweeney sent a message to the community:
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Change of EXIT and ENTRY Doors for Students Using the North Parking Lot Doors
Dear Parents and Guardians:
Please be aware that a disposal bin for the renovation of room 102 will be placed at the west end of our school parking lot.
The disposal bin will be dropped off outside of school hours in the near future.
Consequently:
1. The renovation/construction area will be OUT OF BOUNDS to our students. All yard duty staff will enforce this rule for the safety of our students.
Parents and guardians are asked to reinforce this rule with their children at home.
2. IMPORTANT NEW ENTRY/EXIT PROCEDURE: It is necessary that all classes/students presently using the north parking lot door for building entry and exit begin using the south facing door immediately across from the north parking lot door. The south facing door will be the entry and exit door for this group of students effective Monday, October 24.
Thank you for reviewing these important student safety points with your children.

On Wednesday, October 19, 2011, Mr. Sweeney sent a message to the community:
Construction working committee meeting results and Construction Update:
Dear Blessed Sacrament Parents/Guardians:
I am pleased to share the results of last nights meeting of the Construction Working Committee, which was convened to discuss the potential renovation of Room 102 on the lower floor. The group was asked to consider a number of options, which were laid out in advance, and hinged on pursuing or deferring proposed construction.
At the outset of the meeting, parent representatives were predisposed towards Option 1: defer construction and relocate the displaced classes who are currently in the gym. However, attendees opinions changed after a visual inspection of Room 102 - and upon learning several key facts about the proposed project. In particular:
- Renovation project in Room 102 is discrete, relatively self-contained and far away from the other lower floor classrooms
- The project mainly involves the removal of a single, non-load bearing wall that divides the existing classroom space from a large storage closet. Annexing this large, walk-in closet will convert the room to an even brighter, full-size space that could accommodate up to 30 students.
- All work would be undertaken in the evenings, when children are not in school
- Abatement testing has confirmed no potential environmental hazards
- Type 3 abatement procedures - the highest level of containment - would nevertheless be adopted to minimize dust
Given these considerations, the group collectively decided to pursue Option 2 as follows:
1. Start the renovation of Room 102 as soon as possible. Grade 5/6 and Grade 5 would be in the lower floor classes during the renovation, given the high priority placed on moving them out of the gym.
2. Move the Grade 5 French class to Room 109 upon physical receipt of the letter confirming no ACM (asbestos containing materials) present in Room 102. The move is also dependent upon Board Facilities personnel relocating the desks, which is a union requirement. (Note: I have received electronic notification of no ACM, but prefer to have the physical hard copy in hand before proceeding.)
3. Move the Grade 5/6 English class to Room 110 as soon as some minor repairs (painting, fixing ceiling tiles) can be completed.
4. The Grade 7 French class remains in the library until the renovation to Room 102 is complete, which is targeted for the end of December at the latest.

October 2011 Construction Update
Proceeding in this manner offers several potential benefits, including: - Relocates displaced classes from the gym, which has proven to be a highly challenging learning environment at best
- Frees up both the gym and the library for use by the rest of the school
- Accelerates the timeline for a portion of the overall construction project, increasing the likelihood that the remaining work will be completed on time over the summer months
For those parents who are interested, I will be available next Tuesday, October 25th from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for a personal walk-through of the proposed renovation site and to answer any questions you may have. In the meantime, you will likely find many of your questions answered in the detailed minutes from last nights meeting (please see attached).
Please be assured that we are deeply aware of how difficult it has been for everyone to deal with the general upheaval that has accompanied the start of this school year. We are confident that todays decision sets us on a course to make the best of a challenging situation. Thank you in advance for your continued support as we seek to implement this plan in an expeditious manner.

Communications about renovation

January 25, 2012: Air Sampling results

December 7, 2011: Renovation of room 102 complete

October 20, 2011: Change of EXIT and ENTRY Doors for Students Using the North Parking Lot Doors

October 19, 2011: Working Committee meeting results and minutes

October 13, 2011: Call for Working Committee meeting
October 13, 2011: Air Quality results
October 13, 2011: Mould factsheet from City of Toronto

October 4, 2011: classroom reorganization delay

September 29, 2011: classroom reorganization delay

September 22, 2011: classroom reorganization

September 20, 2011: overview of Construction Working Committee meeting results

September 19, 2011: Construction Working Committee minutes

September 19, 2011: parent representation in the Construction Working Committee

September 16, 2011: formation of a Construction Working Committee

September 12, 2011: delay in building's renovation construction

Classroom Reorganization Delay

On Thursday, October 13, 2011, Mr. Sweeney sent a message to the community:
Air Quality test results and call for working committee meeting:
Dear Blessed Sacrament School Parents/Guardians, Students & Staff:
We have received air quality test results shared in the accompanying letter dated October 13 (The Boards Occupational Health and Safety Department). The only area requiring mould abatement - storage room 105A - has taken place. The storage room remains closed until the Board receives a final report indicating that the work has been completed.
Our first working committee agreed upon the following: - Delay the construction until July 2012;
- Move Grade 5/6 English, currently in the gymnasium, to room 109;
- Move Grade 7 French, currently in the library, to the staff room in the mornings with an afternoon rotation in the music room (room 110).
- Move Grade 5 French, currently in the gym, to the music room (room 110) in the mornings with an afternoon rotation in the staff room.
The Health and Safety department determined that we could not use the current staff room as a class since it does not have windows for natural ventilation, or a mechanical ventilation system. Installing a mechanical ventilation system in the staff room is not an option.
As a result, our first working committee plan was left without a third classroom. Consideration for a portable as the third classroom was deemed too expensive, and seeking leased space for a third class has been unsuccessful.
Therefore, the school board has offered to have a small renovation performed by our facilities department to create a third classroom in the lower floor. Permits are not necessary for work performed by our facilities department so the work can begin shortly after receipt of the final report indicating mould abatement work in storage room 105A has been completed.
The small renovation would expand room 102, as originally planned in the renovation, and provide a third classroom space with pupil capacity for the grade 7 class (presently in the library). The demolition preparation would take place outside school hours (possibly on a weekend) using Type 3 asbestos abatement provisions. This type of work provision provides the highest level of health safety assurance to our school community.
The renovation would take place both during and after school hours. Noisier, more disruptive work would take place outside of school hours. The renovation completion would be four to seven weeks dependent upon the work schedule, with more work conducted outside of school hours extending the renovation time frame closer to the seven week period.
We will conduct a working committee meeting on Tuesday, October 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the school library. The working committee will be comprised of all Class Parents (using the Class Parent list prepared by Lynn Palazzo and shared in the upcoming October 14 CSAC update), CSAC Executive, board staff, facilities staff, and school staff.
The working committee will consider the following three options:
1) Delay all construction until July 2012.
- Move the Grade 5/6 English class to room 109, and the Grade 5 French class to room 110 as soon as possible.
-The Grade 7 French class remains in the library for the school year.
2) Start the renovation of room 102 as soon as possible.
-Move the Grade 5/6 English class to room 109, and the Grade 5 French class to room 110 as soon as possible. Grade 5/6 and Grade 5 would be in the lower floor classes during the renovation.
- The Grade 7 French class remains in the library until the renovation to room 102 is complete.
3) Start the renovation of room 102 as soon as possible.
-Move the Grade 5/6 English, Grade 5 French, and Grade 7 French classes to the lower floor when the renovation to room 102 is complete.
Parents are invited to share their thoughts with their respective Class Parent for representation at the working committee meeting.
I look forward to meeting with the working committee on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 to determine our course of action.

On Tuesday, October 4, 2011, Mr. Sweeney sent a message to the community:
Grade 7 Classroom Reorganization:
Effective Wednesday, October 5th, we will re-organize the Grade 7 Extended French class locating the newly formed class in the school library using an occasional teacher for the am English language instruction. The library location will be a temporary location until the lower floor relocation plan is confirmed through our facilities department.
Once again, I thank you in advance for your consideration and patience as we address contractual class re-organization expectations concurrently with our lower floor relocation planning.

On Monday, October 3, 2011, Mr. Sweeney updated the community at the CSAC meeting:
Air Quality test; modified construction:
We are still awaiting final results of air quality test which we expect to receive just after Thanksgiving. We do not anticipate the tests will reveal any concerns, but this is a necessary procedure to ensure that students are safe in the two lower rooms. Once these tests are passed, the two classes in the gymnasium can be moved downstairs and the gym will be freed up for use by the rest of the school.
The Board is now looking at some other options for construction; they would like to move forward on a limited construction project to take place over the next 6 weeks to create the third classroom downstairs which enlarges the small JK space and will house the Grade 7 EF class that is still in need of an additional space. Mr. Sweeney noted that the Board has not yet assigned the school a teacher for this class; we still do not know whether this position will be filled by a surplus teacher from another school, or a new hire.

On Thursday September 29, 2011, Mr. Sweeney sent a message to the community:
Delayed class moves
As you may recall, we had originally targeted Monday, October 3rd as the date by which all class moves and changes, including the hiring of the new Grade 7 teacher, would take place. Unfortunately, due to some unforeseen circumstances, we will not be able to meet this target for all class moves.
While we await abatement results, we are also seeking to ensure that the lower level spaces (renovation construction area) can be refurbished to provide an appropriate learning environment for our students. This is a complex situation, involving many interdependencies, and there are a number of third parties on whose expertise we rely.
As we gather further information, please be assured that we will continue to explore all potential options and work in ongoing, close collaboration with the parent community to arrive at a satisfactory and expeditious solution.
In the meantime, we have determined that it is in the best interest of the students to rebalance those classes that can be seamlessly accommodated at the present time. To that end, the Grade 5 French class that is currently in the library will be integrated into the existing Grade 6 classes of Ms. Sheehan (French instruction) and Ms. Choucair (English instruction), as planned.
I appreciate that this delay is not ideal and thank you for your continued patience with what has been a very challenging fall for the school community. You can expect to hear more information early next week as it becomes available to me. In particular, parents of children who have additional questions about these delays are invited to contact me directly.

Construction Working Committee

On Monday, September 19, 2011, the Construction Working Committee met at 3:30pm at the school with at least one parent voice at the table from each of the currently displaced classes as well as teachers and TCDSB representatives (Superintendent and Facilities Services).

In response to parent concerns, the Committee unanimously voted to delay the construction until July 2012. The Superintendent of Facilities Services assured that construction would be completed before students return in September 2012 and have an abatement consultant investigate the loose insulation in the gymnasium ceiling.

With two more classes than there are classrooms, the Committee debated classroom reconfigurations and agreed upon the following:

  1. move grade 5/6 English class from the gym to Room 109
  2. add a new grade 7 French class in the staff room during the morning and music room during the afternoon
  3. move grade 5 French class from the library to music room during the morning and staff room during the afternoon
  4. move the instrumental music program and instruments out of the music room; instruments will be stored in the library and classes will be conducted in the library or homeroom class

All class moves and changes will take place by Monday October 3rd.

The TCDSB will move classrooms, reconfigure the spaces and purchase new furniture.
These configurations will cause the least amount of disruption to the fewest number of students while allowing gym, library and music to be accessed school-wide.

The minutes of the Construction Committee Meeting held on September 19, 2011 are now available.

On September 19, 2011, Mr. Sweeney notified the community of the Construction Working Committee representatives:
Please be aware that our parents will be represented at the Construction Committee Meeting by our CSAC Executive, Ms. Clapp (Grade 5/6 Mr. Juarez), Ms. Beck and Ms. Bone (Grade 5 EF Ms. Dunn), and Ms. Duras (Kindergarten).

Renovation details

The basement of Blessed Sacrament is being renovated to create 2 classrooms along with the 2 existing classrooms and a reconfigured staff room.
Construction was supposed to begin in July 2011 and end before the start of school in September 2011; however, a delay in obtaining the correct city permits caused the entire construction to be delayed.

Many parents have raised concern with the displacement of 3 student classrooms:
- Mr. Juarez's grade 5/6 (in the gym)
- Ms. Dunn's/Ms. Kudlik's grade 5 Extended French (in the gym)
- Mr. Bennacer's grade 5 Extended French (in the library)