SAFETY ALERT:  As there will be quite a bit of welding on these beams, the contractor has indicated that there will be some shielding to prevent viewing of the welding arcs. However, just as it is dangerous to stare into the sun, it is also dangerous to stare at welding arcs. Please be careful to safeguard your vision by refraining from staring at the welding of the steel.

Thank you for adhering to our safety alerts to keep you and your family safe during this exciting time on our campus.

See how the construction site looks right now!

POWER OUTAGE THIS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND – NO WEB SITE ACCESS
Since our new school will require an underground power infrastructure, PGE is in the process of switching our campus from overhead electrical wiring to underground power.

Beginning at 5 p.m., Friday, May 28, all power will be out at the high school building. The outage may last anywhere from 24-72 hours.

Even if you do not have a student in the high school and it is a long holiday weekend, this electrical switchover affects all parents in the following ways:

• No access to any campus Web sites, including valleycatholic.org, ssmoministries.org, maryville.org, ssmo.org and unitedwethrive.org. However, there will be a basic campus landing page visible for anyone who types in any of our Web addresses from an off-site computer during the power outage.
• No access to Powerschool to access your student’s grades.
• No electronic access to Friday Folder after 5 p.m. Friday, May 28 until next week.
• No ability to retrieve information from a teacher Web page.
• No internet service on campus.
• Online Giving, Facebook, Twitter and Alumni Weekend Registration will still be accessible because the information for those areas is hosted on servers off of our campus.

All power affecting the above is scheduled and anticipated to be restored by the start of business on Tuesday morning, June 1.

POWER OUTAGE IN CONVENT & ADMINISTRATION OFFICES TUESDAY, JUNE 1
Later in the day on June 1, the Convent building will be without power from 2:30-6:30 p.m. This will mean that the groups listed below will be without access to phones, computers, lights, etc. for the afternoon. Unlike the weekend outage, this will not, however, interfere with our Web site availability or the transfer of email communication for computers outside of the convent building.

• All of Valley Catholic Elementary School
• Business Offices for the SSMO Foundation and the Finance Dept.
• Offices of VCS President Sr. Rita Watkins, SSMO Ministries President Sr. Adele Marie Altenhofen and the Convent front desk
• The residence of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon

Power-related outages may occur frequently throughout the construction project. We will always do our best to convey when you could be affected.

If you aren’t on campus for awhile, don’t forget to check the Web cams periodically to see what has changed or to watch things as they happen.

Reminder: The live Web cams are not available for viewing over Memorial Day weekend due to the scheduled campus power outage.

Thank you again for your support, understanding and patience!

Click here to see the Groundbreaking video and other great school moments on our Web channel www.valleycatholictv.com

Nearly 200 parents and friends of Valley Catholic and the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon attended the festive groundbreaking event for the new K-8 School Wednesday, May 5. The site where the school will be built was transformed into a Cinco de Mayo fiesta. Everyone gathered to eat, drink, celebrate and watch school representatives don hard hats and dig in the dirt with golden shovels.

VCES Principal Susan Friesen said, “You folks threw a fabulous party last night!!!  Some of us are still shaking ourselves awake to the fact that it is really happening. Teachers are talking excitedly about having rooms that are actually big enough for 28 students per classroom, with sinks and more than just one or two outlets to boot, plus modern technology to assist us with our teaching.”

Students and teachers are excited that construction has begun as more space and newer facilities are a welcome change from being housed in the 1930s Convent and in portable buildings.

Pre-schooler Simon Armstrong digs in the dirt to start the construction of the new K-8 School where he'll be able to attend Kindergarten.

The new facility will be a 67,000 square foot state-of-the-art building, constructed to achieve a Gold rating with the United States Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. The building will emphasize controlled natural lighting, energy saving mechanical systems, “green” and recycled materials and other strategies as a part of a commitment to sustainable practices. The construction project also calls for a new improved traffic flow for the campus as well as additional parking.

The new K-8 School will be open for students in September of  2011.

A similar groundbreaking event was held for all students earlier the same day where everyone was given commemorative water bottles and ice cream. Pictures will be available at a later date. To view a gallery of pictures from the evening event, please click on this link.

Annex demolition will occur throughout the month of May.

While it will be interesting at any time to observe the activity, it will be especially noteworthy when major events happen such as the demolition of the annex, the felling of trees, and the raising of the walls on the actual building. The cameras are in real-time and will also make it possible for us to create a time-lapsed version of the K-8 School’s construction when the project is complete in the summer of 2011.

You can get to our Web cams any time from our home page at www.unitedwethrive.org. You can also see them here. Be sure to bookmark the site and visit often.

The last day students can play on the structure in the field near Valley Catholic Early Learning School is Friday, April 30. The jungle gym and tire swingset will be moved Monday, May 3 and return in its new location Monday, May 10. Thank you for your patience during this transition.

The latest information about the construction project will be posted on all our campus Web sites as it becomes available. Any news that could effect students, parents and employees will be posted as soon as it becomes available.

The best part is, if you want this information delivered directly to your email inbox, all you need to do is SUBSCRIBE HERE by entering your email address. Announcements will be sent to you as an email once a day if any news items are posted that day.

We welcome any suggestions about how best to communicate with you during this exciting time of growth on our campus. Please direct your comments to Director of Marketing & Communications Karen Crandal.

The Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon are pleased and honored to announce that they will break ground for the new K-8 Education Center on Wednesday, May 5. Taking on the largest capital project in SSMO history, the Sisters are proud to begin construction for what will be an amazing home of learning and prayer for Valley Catholic’s students, teachers, parents and the broader community.

Many of you may know that the Sisters will celebrate their 125th anniversary as a religious community from March 2011-March 2012. Over these 125 years, the SSMOs have witnessed the learning and transformation of more than 10,000 young people. They describe building a new, spacious and sustainable school home for their K-8 students as a dream come true and a wonderful way to punctuate their value of striving for excellence in the realm of education. The school’s grand opening will occur in September, 2011 — in the middle of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon’s 125th Jubilee year.

The entire campus is invited to meet under the tent at the corner of St. Mary’s Drive and 148th for a true Mexican fiesta with appetizers, drinks and music!

Please Note: Because a student celebration will be held earlier in the day, the evening event is intended for adults only.

PGE Pole Setting; Some 148th Ave. Parking Removed

PGE will be working in the lane at the south side of Elementary School at 8:30 a.m. Monday, April 19. The path that runs along the west side of the Elementary School will be blocked off to prevent anyone from walking south toward the pool. The south entrance to the Elementary School will remain open and will be the designated path to the pool. This will be clearly marked and PGE will have personnel there for safety. To access the covered play area, the west entrance shall be used to leave the school and classes will have to use the sidewalk along the Grotto. We hope PGE will be in this area for only a couple of hours.

After this new pole is set, PGE will be moving to 148th Ave. to set the new pole in front of the new guest house and an additional pole in front of Our Lady of Lourdes house (next to the one that is there already). There may be some brief traffic disruptions, but they will be clear of the area by 2:15 p.m. If they need more time, they will come back Tuesday, April 20 at 8:30 a.m. and will be completed well in advance of the afternoon.

We have asked PGE to avoid drop off and pick-up times to prevent traffic congestion. However, when PGE is planting these poles, they may need to block the roads and will need to maintain a safe perimeter from their work equipment.

Additionally, the small group of parking spaces on the west side of 148th Ave. will be blocked off Monday morning at 6 a.m. and will be no longer available for the duration of the construction project.

You will start to see spray paint on the grass areas and on the asphalt around the property. These are “locates” and place markers for our new electrical vaults and transformers.

Contact Director of Marketing & Communications Karen Crandal with any questions or concerns.