News from Carroll High School

Flower Beds!

2008-04-22T10:22:00.013-05:00

For those that have not had a chance to see our new flower beds, here are some pictures of our renovation. Keeley Lowery, one of our Biology teachers, spearheaded this project. This was PTSO's give to the CHS community. Sharon Duquemin graciously designed the flower bed and Kevin Mitchell with Inspired Designs was instrumental in getting us great pricing on the plants, boulders and mulch. He also took care of us with more dirt. Gotta love more dirt! Please support his business as he has generously supported CHS. Thanks to all the students and parents that came up to save on the cost of labor. It looks great!

Inspired Design- Horticultural Design, Advice, & Installation

817-416-2609

mitchelljk@verizon.net

Extreme School Makeover!

2008-03-26T13:29:00.006-05:00

It was like Extreme Home Makeover during Spring Break. Take a look at the 3 story addition, but more importantly the band hall pictures. It's not quite done but there was a lot accomplished in one week.

Enjoy!

More Steel and Pics!

2008-03-12T11:29:00.003-05:00

We have steel for the three story addition just about completed and we are continuing the process on the commons area. See the pictures today! Pretty exciting!

Big Weekend!

2008-02-26T14:33:00.007-06:00

The walls came crumbling down this weekend in the band hall. We aren't done yet, but the band was able to get a feel for the amount of space that they will have when the project is completed. The directors are officially moved into their new office space...almost. Mr. Johnson is still waiting on his space to be completed.

We have brick on the exterior of the band hall practice rooms with paint on the walls. Hopefully Spring Break will be when we can tie that together with the existing band hall.

The gym expansion is almost completely bricked and now we wait for the right time to tear out the existing wall to tie in with the gym. There will be a temporary wall built inside the gym to allow this work to be completed while we are still having school.

If you drive around to the back of the building, you will see the commons area starting to take shape. It is pretty exciting! I'll get some of those pictures soon.

Enjoy your day!
RW

Check This Out!

2008-02-07T18:18:00.000-06:00

Hello from CHS!

We have steel going up for the commons area and it is starting to take shape. Very cool.

I wanted to post a brief update to direct you to a new communication feature that our district is providing. Click HERE and then choose the February 2008 Edition for the latest segment of Inside Carroll. It is a 30 minute segment that has a ton of great information including yours truly discussing our construction at CHS.

Enjoy!

RW

Long Awaited Update

2008-01-16T09:27:00.000-06:00

With the semester coming to a close and the students all taking finals, I have some time to update this blog. Here is the latest and greatest of each part of the renovation.

Library

All of our library furniture is in. We have a few pieces that need to be replaced, but all in all, it is here and almost ready for the grand re-opening. We have to still do some work to establish the library office and workroom, but the main portion of the library is looking great.

Band Hall

I have fielded a few questions about the band hall. The biggest concern/question has been "I thought it was going to get much bigger than what we are seeing". The addition that you can see from the road contains all of the practice rooms, office space, workroom and a percussion room. We have doubled our practice room space, added an extra office, provided a work space for the band boosters and developed a room for the drum line to fine tune their routines. All the space inside the band hall that was office space, storage and practice rooms is now opened up to make the actual band hall bigger. Just like the library, these are interior expansions that can't be appreciated from outside. Once it is done, you will definitely see a difference.

Commons Area

We have a slab and some steel already up. We are waiting for the rest of the steel which should be here sometime next week.

Gym

As you can tell from the road, we are moving right along with this piece. There is a deck that has been installed about 12' from the ground. This deck is where the new set of bleachers will be housed. Below that deck will be storage and a new dance studio for our dance classes. By utilizing that space, we are freeing up one of our gyms for other classes all without adding more square footage to the plan.

Classroom Addition

We have a slab. The steel is in fabrication. That is about all I have on that item.

We are moving right along. Thank you for your patience and support.

RW

Construction Update

2007-12-19T15:31:00.000-06:00

It has been awhile since my last post. There was a bunch of activity today.

Steel and cinder block for the band hall expansion

Pouring grade beams for the three story addition

Steel for the gym expansion

We are moving right along. The commons area should have a completed foundation by the end of the week and the three story addition should have its foundation by the end of next week.

If I don't post again, have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Enjoy the time off.

RW

Commons Area!

2007-12-03T14:10:00.000-06:00

The commons area is making progress. They are pouring concrete today! I have to admit that it is not nearly as exciting to watch the third time around, but it's happening. We should start seeing some finishing touches (not finished touches) in the band hall over the break. The library will also receive all of it's new furniture over break.

I only have one more item to address. Everyone knows a picture is worth a thousand words so I will leave you with this....

Have great day!
RW

Back from break

2007-11-27T14:27:00.000-06:00

Well, we are back after a restful week off and I have a few updates. First, we have a slab for the band hall extension and the gym expansion. We should see structural steel in the next week or so. They are still working on the prep for the foundation of the commons area. Hard to believe what goes into the foundation. Better for us in the long run!

Stay tuned for information in the Dragon Diary regarding our latest beautification project. Anyone that has walked up to the front of the school, especially in the summer, is familiar with our weed...I mean...flower bed. It's getting ready to change and we need your help. Details will follow here and in the email.

Thanks for all your support and dedication in making this the best school in Texas!

RW

Veterans Day!

2007-11-12T14:02:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a break from talking about construction to honor the veterans of this country. It is because of their sacrifice and commitment to this fine country that we can live free. If you have served or are serving in the armed services, Thank You!

We had a ceremony recognizing those that have served or are serving. I thought you might like to see a picture of these fine men and women. You can also view a slide show of pictures if you click here.

More digging!

2007-11-06T10:13:00.001-06:00

Here are some more pics. The pictures in the shadows are the view from inside the school into the new commons area. Expert photographers around the world are cringing at my level of expertise with light exposure. Oh well.

The picture below is the foundation work for the expansion of the gym. 700 more seats! For those that have experienced one of our pep rallies, you know why this is an exciting time.

Another gorgeous day with a cool front to top it all off! I hope you are having a great day!

Pouring Concrete!

2007-10-30T15:03:00.000-05:00

WooHoo! Let the fun begin. See the pictures pouring the foundation (actually grade beams for those that really care). Man that concrete pump was getting after it. We should be seeing some work on the gym side soon.

I'm also including a picture of how happy a band director can really be when his practice rooms are that much closer to completion.

RW

Stay Tuned!

2007-10-29T20:51:00.000-05:00

We are getting close to a foundation for the extension of the band hall. Sorry, but it's a guy thing to get giddy over rebar and concrete. Once they start pouring, I'll upload pictures. WooHoo!

Another Award!

2007-10-23T08:24:00.000-05:00

Sorry that I have been away from the blog in the past couple of days. Currently I am in Austin with a few of the CHS teachers where we had the honor of accepting the TBEC award. Only 64 high schools in the state of Texas received this honor. This is our second year in a row. You can click on the link to find out more about this award, but it is important to note that the data is based on the past three years performance. This is not a one time shot with some good scores, this is a reflection of the ongoing excellence of CHS. Our teachers are working hard and our students are responding.

As always, thanks for your support.

RW

Construction Update

2007-10-18T11:20:00.001-05:00

Some serious work is being done on the band hall. The excavation is in full swing to move toward pouring the foundation soon. I can envision the new practice rooms already.

The classroom and commons addition will begin seeing the same excavation soon. We are currently drying out in the new commons area from that torrential rain storm.

On a totally unrelated topic, it is a beautiful day outside as you can see in the picture. The music just came on in the halls so I have to go mingle with the kids.

Have a great day!

RW

Blogging is Contagious

2007-10-15T12:02:00.000-05:00

Hello,

Our school resource officer has started his own blog. He will be able to keep the community informed on the law and order of CHS. Obviously, he will not be sharing specific details on cases, but he can answer questions regarding police matters on school grounds. You can find the link to his blog under my "Valuable Resources" section.

Enjoy!

RW

Visiting Our Campus

2007-10-12T08:46:00.000-05:00

CHS Community,

This is the first post that doesn't center around construction. I'm going to ask for your help which in turn will help our teachers.

I have written a brief letter explaining my expectations of parent communication. That letter will be posted on our website soon. I fully expect the CHS faculty to communicate with the parents of Carroll High School and I believe they do a great job. However, I know that there are certain times when phone calls are missed or deadlines are approaching and anxiety increases. Our teachers make a point to meet with parents and take care of the needs of our students, but we need to be respectful of their time. Please make sure you are setting an appointment with our teachers prior to arriving on campus. Setting an appointment involves two way communication and an agreement on a date and time. That time could be during their conference period, before or after school. We don't practice a "drop-in" policy. When teachers come in to school in the morning, they need to have time to get their day started and when unexpected visitors are waiting, it can be very disruptive. Please be respectful of this practice.

I want to thank you for staying involved in your child's education. The teamwork of the parents and the educational community makes Carroll the exemplary district it is today.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the Homecoming game.

Go Dragons!

RW

New Construction Updates

2007-10-09T11:18:00.000-05:00

CHS Community,

I'm sure most of you were here for Curriculum Night and saw some of the changes on campus. The outside work has begun even though it just looks like a lot of dirt has been moved around. They are drilling piers for the foundation. For the ladies reading this, you will not be very impressed, but guys will appreciate it. Some of the piers on the 3rd floor addition are 66" wide......25 feet deep...WOW! I will confess that I have caught myself mesmorized by the big machine that digs those holes. I know...toys for boys.

I'll will try to get some pictures uploaded for you when some of the areas progress to a point of interest, but pictures of dirt aren't very exciting.

Stay tuned...

New School Year, New Blog

2007-10-08T16:12:00.000-05:00

Hello CHS Community,

For those that were trying to keep up with my construction updates over the summer, I appreciate your support. The server I was using did not like being overrun with pictures, so I'm changing sites...Experiment #2.

I am going to try allowing comments on this blog. The comments will be moderated by yours truly before being posted. Hopefully this will allow for some two way communication of questions or issues. If I get swamped with comments or I determine that the feature isn't useful, I'll address it later.

I'll add more in the days to come.

RW