Hockinson Middle School’s STEM classes took a break from their own building projects to don hard hats and boots at the site of a much bigger undertaking: the building of a new Middle School.
“What better opportunity than to go out and experience the building of a school in your back yard,” said science, technology, engineering and mathematics teacher Mark Muckerheide, whose classes work on everything from building gadgets to keep dropped eggs from breaking to robotics.
On the construction site, Robinson Construction Co. staff oriented students to the future school and answered questions, such as:
“How do you know what’s going to go where?” (Answer: There’s a big book where everything is listed, down to the lockers and desks.)
“Are we all going to have lockers?” (Answer: Yes. Response: “Cool!”)
“Where’s the band room going to be?” (Answer: Next to the STEM room, on the northeast corner of the building.)
“Are you going to blow up the old school?” (Answer: No, it will be used for administration, storage and other purposes.)
Construction is moving rapidly, with a revamped phasing plan that will have the school ready for use at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year—a semester earlier than planned.
Improvements on the High School, which include the new band room, sports pavilion and grandstand, are expected to be complete in November, and the new fields should be ready for baseball, softball and soccer in the spring.
Visiting with Robinson project engineer Ray Seeley, Jr., one STEM student exclaimed, “I want to write a big, humongous note that says, ‘thank you!’”
Hockinson School District seconds that sentiment! We thank our community for your support of these projects, which are being completed with bond funding and state matches.
