Renovation

As we near the end of the first quarter, I am happy to announce that the performing arts wing has opened up which includes the Orchestra, Band, and Choral rooms. In addition the Auditorium will be opening in the next week or so which we are excited to begin using. Towards the end of November, Gym II, Team Rooms, and Coaches Offices will be opening.  The student activities suite with 8th period office located across the art room, as well as the PTSA room, is also close to completion.

Don’t hesitate to contact me at SJFrank@fcps.edu if you have any questions about the renovation.
Sincerely,
Shawn J. Frank 
Assistant Principal

Dear TJ Community,
The start of the school year brought with it the successful opening of a new wing in the building which included:

• Humanities, Physics, Biology, and Design Tech Classrooms
• Partial openings of two courtyards for lunch, learning, and activities
• Lecture Hall for presentations up to 200 people
• Remote serving line with wraps and salads so students can save the walk to the cafeteria
• Two Commons (Hopper and Turing) for flexible learning spaces, collaboration across disciplines, and activity spaces

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of these new spaces at our Back to School Night earlier this week.

We are approximately one month away from opening our fine arts wing to include the auditorium, choral room, band room, orchestra room, and practice rooms.  At that time, the Audlob (Auditorium lobby) will reopen so there will be easier access in the evening from the parking lot (bus depot) to athletics events in the gymnasium and performances in the auditorium.

The completion of the renovation project is close at hand with a target of the end of the 1st semester.  All of those walks to classrooms in a trailer will soon cease and we will need to find new ways to exercise.  Stay tuned for an announcement of a special event so that you may tour the school.  Don’t hesitate to contact me at SJFrank@fcps.edu if you have any questions about the renovation.

Sincerely, 
Shawn J. Frank
Assistant Principal

The remainder of Phase 2 is complete. The following areas will soon be opened as a result:

• 15 Humanities Classrooms
• 5 Biology Classrooms
• 4 Physics Classrooms
• 3 Design Tech Classrooms
• Lecture Hall
• Courtyard containing Greenhouse
• 2 Commons
• Serving Line
• 5 Small Group Rooms

We will now move to the final phase of Renovation which will include extensive work in the coming months. In order to meet the December, 2016, completion date, the 44 back trailers will be removed at the conclusion of the school year. 

March 31 Update Letter with photos (pdf)

The first half of Phase 2 is now complete with the grand staircase and backside of the Nobel Commons in the front of the building opening this week. The following areas are now open and in use:

• Franklin (Career Center) Commons
• Nobel (Entryway) Commons
• Student leadership room
• Principal’s conference room
• Art gallery
• Cold food lunch line on the 2nd floor
• College and Career Center
• World Language classrooms
• Two health/PE classrooms
• Two humanities classrooms
• Library 
• Internet Café

The remainder of Phase 2 work is well underway and will include Physics, Humanities, Design Tech, Biology classrooms upon its completion (estimated May 2016). 

Door 12 near the bus depot is no longer in use due to construction in the Performing Arts wing. The Dome is the main entrance until 4:15pm and then you can use Entrance 10 near the bus depot for after school activities. 

A few traffic and safety reminders with our parents:  

• AM Drop-offs: Please remember that the visitor and staff parking areas should not be used to drop off students in the morning.  Also be mindful that dropping students off in traffic on the driveway in the front of the school can be very dangerous.  Instead, please pull completely forward onto the access road and drop students off in the Kiss and Ride lanes.  This is much safer and will assist us in moving morning traffic in an orderly fashion.  
• PM Pick-ups: For afternoon pickups, once spaces are filled in the visitor parking lot, park in the staff lot instead of using the fire lanes or double-parking in the visitor lot. As with drop offs in the morning, parents should never attempt to pick up students on the driveway in front of the school for safety reasons. Continue to maintain a speed limit of 15mph while driving around campus.

• Performing Arts has moved into temporary locations. The auditorium lobby is closed.
• Staff and students entering from Weyanoke should use Doors 10 or 11 or the main entrance to access the building.
• Renovation work near Grand Staircase is nearing completion and will then be scheduled for inspections.
• The quad of trailers near the planetarium is scheduled to be taken off the property in the next month. The planetarium will relocate on May 2 until it is renovated.
• The dome and Nobel commons will soon be equipped with Wi-Fi.
• Water will be turned off in the building the weekend of March 5-6.
• Movement of humanities quads 21-24 and 29-32 have been delayed until the end of phase 2. Instead Design and Construction will first remove trailers 33-44 in early spring. They are currently vacant.

Opening Monday, February 1st:

• Career Center (Franklin) Commons
• Half of the Entryway (Nobel) Commons (courtyard side with stairwell still closed by partition)
• Student leadership room
• Principal’s conference room

Opening Mid-to-late February (and possibly sooner):

• Art Gallery
• Cold food lunch serving area upstairs
• College and Career Center
• World language classrooms
• Health classrooms
• Some humanities classrooms
• Library
• Four Internet cafes

Starting February 8, Door 12 near the bus depot will no longer be used as the main entrance. Visitors should enter through the dome to access the front office and attendance office.  Starting on February 8, cars entering late to campus will be directed to drop off in the visitor’s lot.  However, cars arriving on time should continue dropping off at the kiss-and-ride on the access road.

The Auditorium, Auditorium lobby, and Performing arts wing will begin construction on February 19th. Plans are underway for those classes to be moved to other areas of the building.  Once these areas are shut down, students waiting for after-school rides should sit on a bench in the dome.

• Minor road will be shut down for the widening and new power service
• Softball field will be down for new lighting, dugouts and press box renovation
• Main gym, locker rooms and custodial addition will be worked on
• In addition the art rooms, library, humanities and design tech additions will be under construction
• The terrazzo floor in the dome will begin being done (including the TJ Insignia)
• Remove the existing 2nd floor slab inside of the new main entrance and completing the 1st floor lobby area.

Pictures showing the current progress of the renovation

Spring Break is here, which gives us a little time to recharge our batteries as we move into the stretch run of the school year. Major work of Phase 2 will take place over the next week. Since teachers and students will not be in the building because it is closed, Design and Construction can maximize their work.  This work includes renovating Gym I and the surrounding areas including:

• Boys Locker Room
• Weight Room
• Training Room
• The exterior alley way between Gym II and the Boys Locker Room
• The corridor between the Boys Locker Room and Gym I
• Student Activities Office

Design and Construction anticipate completing the renovations on these areas before the beginning of the 2015-16 school year. All coaches have informed students participating in spring sports of their schedules for practices during the break. The new cafeteria is on track to be completed during Spring Break and will be open to students when we return.  Following Spring Break, the Student Activities Office will be temporarily relocated in the Admin Wing, accessible by walking through our main Entrance #8, past the Student Services stairwell, a left turn into the new Admin addition, and a right turn into the administrative suites.  Follow the signs and then look for the banner.

The New Year brings the major part of the renovation project into full swing. Phase 2 is underway for the next 12 months and will include significant construction to the center of the school building. Design and Construction continue to take all necessary safeguards to ensure a safe environment for all members of Thomas Jefferson community, such as sealing off areas where a lot of dust may travel and creating partition walkways away from the center of the building.  In addition, air quality testing occurs frequently to ensure compliance with OSHA regulations.  Outside the building, coatings have been added to trailer walkways to prevent slipping during wet and wintry conditions.

With colder temperatures and slick riding conditions please drive slowly around campus (15 mph). Parents should continue to drop off at the kiss and ride on the Access Road, the same location used since the start of the school year. Please depart by turning right onto Little River Turnpike so that traffic does not back up in the morning.  I also ask that you do not drop off students elsewhere in the morning to preserve a smooth traffic system and prioritize student safety.  This includes the staff parking and visitor lots, which are not student, drop off locations.

In the afternoon, buses need priority accessing the depot and Access Road immediately at dismissal until 4:00pm so they can pick up students without oncoming traffic.  We prefer parents to arrive after 4:00pm to allow easy access on and off campus without disruption from bus traffic.

• New Geosystems/ Chemistry classrooms, students services, and administrative wings have been opened this week for student and staff use.
• New visitor lot at the front of the building will be opened to the public on Monday, November 10. Visitors will need to use the crosswalk to the front sidewalk and walk around to the same main entrance at the side of the building (Entrance 8). The only parking available near Entrance 8 will be for any visitors with disabilities.
• Attendance will remain in its current location until the dome is completed
• November 10 will mark the beginning of our new bus traffic pattern where buses will use the depot area and drop off students at Entrance 8.  Parents will continue straight up Minor Lane to the kiss and ride, the same drop off location used since the start of the school year.  In order to help with the flow of traffic, parents need to pull up as far as possible on the kiss and ride lane.   Please do not drop off students elsewhere in the morning to preserve a smooth traffic system and prioritize student safety. 

It’s an exciting time at Thomas Jefferson as we are in the final stages of our move into the new wings.  Some students will begin classes in the new wing as early as next week with gradual moving through the start of the second quarter.  If you would like to see the spaces and hear our vision, please reserve November 14 at 2:30pm on your calendar.  An RSVP invitation will be issued later this month.
 
The interior of the front dome will not be ready for 2-3 months.  Therefore, entrance 8 will continue to the main point of entry over this time period.  For the time being, this means visitors will walk from the front of the building to the side door in order to reach the main office.  
 
The current traffic pattern and kiss-and-ride will remain unchanged until further announcement. Security will continue to be onsite in the morning to assist with traffic. In order to maintain a smooth traffic flow, we ask that you don’t park on the access road between 7:00am-9:00am.