What is our goal for summer? For SCIE students the answer might be summer camp and lots of traveling. For teachers, the answer might be to rest, recharge, and prepare for the coming semester. As the administrative personnel of SCIE, our goal is to construct, upgrade, refurbish, and improve the SCIE campus.
Like last year, we started planning and designing in April and set goals in May. With the signing of the contract in June, all preparations were set. Immediately after the graduation ceremony, the whole campus entered renovation mode.
Please allow us to divide the campus into smaller areas and introduce our renovation work to you.
▋Teaching Area
One of the most important parts of our campus is the teaching area. Due to frequent daily use, the floor gradually stained and cracked. After discussing with our designers, we decided to experiment with tile floors on the 5th floor. The products were from a company named Monalisa Tiles, with the tile size being 1200×600. We used the tiles in all corridors on the 5th floor and in four classrooms on other floors that are in relatively bad condition.
We plan on refurbishing the other floors in the next summer holidays.
To enhance echo reduction and sound performance, we installed sound-absorbing panels in the four large classrooms such as B326. With its excellent performance, we decided to install more of this type of panels in the multifunctional halls G020, G120, and G121 as well as classrooms and labs of Block A.
As in the previous year, the sound-absorbing panels used are still products of the American brand Armstrong, famous for its powerful functions in sound absorption, noise reduction, and optimization of the spatial sound field. Although the price is almost twice that of similar products of any other brands on the market, we care more about its excellent performance in product safety, fire retardancy, moisture resistance, antibacterial, and formaldehyde testing. The products used this time have test reports on appearance inspection, sound absorption effect, flame retardancy test, and formaldehyde emission. As a school, we always pay close attention to the quality of the project from the material level and strive to provide students with a safer and better learning environment.
Sound-absorbing panels
It is noteworthy that the newly opened sound-absorbing material emits an odor similar to wool. However, it is completely harmless to the human body and will gradually dissipate. To ensure that we can ventilate the odor as fast as possible, we specially arranged for professionals to follow up on the construction progress on-site during the summer vacation. After each floor was completed, doors and windows were opened, and axial flow fans were placed to assist ventilation and deodorization. The results of such measures are phenomenal. With the completion of the project on July 20, the last completed classrooms have been ventilated for an excess of 20 days and are virtually odorless now.
The installation of sound-absorbing panels for classrooms and labs of Block B is scheduled for the summer vacation of 2025.
Classroom After Construction
▋Sports Area
Regarding sports and physical education, with the rising popularity of Pickleball, we constructed a standard-size Pickleball court on the rooftop of B Block. This court ensures multifunctionality with its compatibility with 2 to 2 football games. We used a refreshing and bright color scheme of sapphire blue with lemon yellow. Due to the fact that the rooftop has abundant sunshine, we equipped the east side of the rooftop with an electric collapsible cover that PE teachers can choose to use according to weather conditions.
The climbing wall has always been popular with our students. We swapped out the yellow foam mattress beneath the wall and replaced it with a 5cm shock-absorbing cushion covered by artificial grass. This design is more aesthetically pleasing with greater capabilities to prevent water puddles from forming.
Before & After Construction
We also adjusted and upgraded to other sports facilities such as the curtain in the gymnasium. We swapped the curtain from white to grey to enhance the experience of our students. We also doubled the size of our locker rooms within the gymnasium and repainted some of the lines on the ball court. In addition, we updated the design of the bathroom, repaired, and refurnished the essential equipment of the gymnasium. To ensure a much better experience for all users, we also redesigned the sewage system around the fields for football, basketball, and volleyball.
▋Student Dormitory
In the student dormitory, besides refurbishing the rubber floors and the pipelines for sewage and electricity, we also made improvements to the sewage system of some of the bathrooms in the student dormitories.
▋Public Area
In terms of improving the overall environment of the campus, we repainted the outer walls of the buildings, the fences surrounding the running track, and the walls of the stairwell. We replaced the corroded plant containers and upgraded the drainage pipes linking these containers.
▋Equipment Maintenance
Aside from these visible improvements, we also upgraded our audio, electronics, and lighting systems, intelligent systems, and performed maintenance to air conditioners, water tanks, lightning protection, and emergency equipment. We took detailed care of the plants and the garden landscape. These works have been carried out continuously in daily study and life, and more rigorous inspections were arranged during the summer vacation. The development of the work is like a drizzle that moistens things without people noticing. It seems that “no change” is the excellent embodiment of these works.
▋Conclusion
Time flies, and the summer vacation of 2024 comes to an end. In less than 60 days, we had done more than anyone could have imagined. We experienced the pouring rain of storm season and the glaring sunlight of daytime.
With the arrival of new and old students, the new school year is about to begin. SCIE will enter its 22nd year and the new campus is stepping into its 5th year.
What is the meaning of administrative work? It is nothing more than the decision-makers are willing to invest, and the execution team are willing to face the hardship and tediousness of the work. What do we hope for? We hope that SCIE can be like the sunny and enthusiastic students on campus, forever young, always positive, and fearless of hard work.
- Article / Elina Li (SSO)
- Pictures / Brian, Sheryl
