Caution - Cleaning crew at work

We really wanted to start cleaning up earlier, but there were still too many workers moving in and out on a daily basis. Fortunately, the renovation work is starting to wind down, so our preparation begins in earnest from this day.

Our three "cleaners", all of whom are Mothergoose stalwarts, made their long way from Punggol to the school nice and early in the morning, and set about sweeping, mopping and wiping - with loads of enthusiasm. Slow down, ladies. It's only Day One!

The staff who will get the school going from the beginning. From left - Xiao Laoshi, Mrs Poh and Aunty Chai Hong (Ms Wong is absent, will be back next week).

Staff Visit

We had a visit from Orion Preschool Staff #002 and Staff #003 today to check on the progress of the renovation works (#001 is reserved). Mrs Poh has visited a couple of times previously, but today is the first time that Aunty Chai Hong has the opportunity to view the inside of the premises.

Of greatest concern to Aunty Chai Hong is the kitchen, which will be where she spends most of the day preparing delicious meals for the children and teachers. After sweating for 23 years in the tight and stuffy confines of the kitchens of our old premises, we hope that the spacious kitchen here will meet with her approval. Mrs Poh, on the other hand, will now go home and dream of the layout for her classroom.

But our focus this week is getting the premises ready for fire safety certification. This means that the fire hosereel must be tested, and work on the fire escape staircase must be completed.

Yesterday, the workers finished up the fire hosereel installation by adding the hosereel box, thus completing the full works.

So today, under the watchful eyes of our architect, we conducted a test of the fire hosereel to verify that the water jet is able to meet the requirements laid down by SCDF. Success!

On Monday, the parts of the fire escape staircase were finally delivered to site. The metalwork people immediately proceeded to put them all together.

The upper section of the staircase is hoisted up inch by inch using a pulley.

The lower section is then carried over to its location by brute force.

Lots of alignment and welding later, we have a respectable-looking staircase with railings done up, and the staircase is more than halfway completed. Now the guys will just have to fix up the roofing overhead, and we can then get the entire premises certified for fire safety compliance.

Inaugural staff meeting

Not an earthshaking event by any means, but a milestone worth recording. The first staff meeting for Orion Preschool was held on 12th February 2015 at Saizeriya in OneKM. Dinner and dessert took up the better part of the evening. In between eats, we found time to touch on the renovation schedule, staffing plan, program enhancements and long term strategy. Deep!

One for the album.