Extraordinary Meeting - Dec 12th, 2011

The geotechnical assessment revealed some organic matter that must be removed from the property. Also, an amended floodplain bylaw was passed by the City which requires us to build up the site by 1.2 metres. These are both extra costs for the project. In addition, parking and landscaping must be included in the budget. These items greatly reduce the budget available for the actual building. The Cedars Christian School Board is holding an extraordinary Society meeting on Dec 12th, 2011 to discuss and decide between two options:

1.) To further fundraise in order to build a gym which would require approximately another $1.1 million

OR

2.) To build what we can with the $2.9 million we have which would include a home ec room and wood shop & washrooms

Please come out to the extraordinary meeting to learn more and to provide your input on this very important decision.

Geotechnical Assessment

GeoNorth Engineering is here today doing the geotechnical assessment. They are drilling down with an auger. We'll see what lies beneath the surface.

This is one more step in the process towards our expansion!

Rezoning Complete!!!!

It has been a long process but the rezoning of our new land at 677 N. Nechako Rd is now complete! City Council gave 4th and final reading to the rezoning bylaw on May 30th. This is one more task completed on the road to our expansion. The new building will be constructed on the new property during the 2011/2012 school year. We plan to have the building ready for September 2012!

Progress Update

It has been a busy few months working towards getting all the pieces in place for the expansion. Here is an update of what has occurred over the past several months:

• In January we hired IDL Projects Inc to work with us on the preconstruction phase of the project




• In February we learned from the City that we needed an architect on the project and so we hired Charlie Maddison of Boni Maddison Architects out of Vancouver




• In March we hired the various engineers needed on the project including mechanical, electrical, civil, geotechnical and structural




• In April we hired our mechanical and electrical contractors and gathered a staff team together

We are currently working on finalizing the building plan and the budget. Once we have the detailed plan and budget completed and approved by the Cedars Christian School Board, we will need to:

1. Go through Design Panel with the City




2. Submit the plans and budget for approval from the Jim Pattison Foundation




3. Begin Construction!!!

We are all anxiously awaiting this new building with a brand new High School gymnasium and specialty classrooms. Please continue to pray for the success of this project and for everything to fall into place. There are many moving parts and we need God's hand and blessing on each aspect of this expansion.

The verse that has been on my heart and mind throughout this process is Psalm 127:1, "Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labour in vain". We are excited to see where God is taking us as a school community this coming year!

Amazing Development!!

Well, we have experienced another miracle in this amazing process to build this expansion. As of December 31, 2010, we passed the mark to raise $600,000. With the matching grant from the Jim Pattison Foundation (4:1), we now have 2.9 million dollars in place for our expansion. And, our goal was to just have this amount in cash and pledges but our community (and beyond) has graciously contributed the whole $600,000 IN CASH. So we really are ready to go!

Many people are still continuing to contribute to the project. This is good! We will need this money. As we look at the details, we are aware that there are many expensive parts that we would like to complete in this expansion, if we can afford it. For example, we would love it if we could complete the new parking lot with pavement, lights, plug-ins and proper traffic flow this summer. A properly finished parking lot would really improve our campus grounds.

Building plans, zoning requirements, site plans and many other pieces of the building puzzle are coming together. Pray for wisdom as many important decisions are being made as the plans come together. Pray also a prayer of Thanks to God for this amazing miracle. A year ago, we could see no way forward. Today we realize with excitement that this building is no longer a question of "if" but a question of "when". What a great story we are sharing!

Update on the Campaign

We are nearly at the end of the calendar year once again. The momentum for our capital campaign has been amazing! Thank you for all those who have helped to make this building program a reality. Imagine, Give, Believe that we can do this! Just before the break, we had a total of 520,00 dollars in cash toward our project. We're nearly there! When we reach 600,000 dollars, our matching grant from the Jim Pattison Foundation means that we will have a total of 2.9 million dollars in cash for this project.

Have a wonderful Christmas. See you in the New Year with hopefully an even better total toward our goal.

Creative Solutions - Newsletter Article

If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. ~Robert Fulghum

I walk through the foyer each day and think to myself, “Wow, this truly is a multi-purpose room.” On any given day we may have students studying on a spare, students singing and practicing for the Christmas musical, students playing dodge ball with ping pong balls for PE, students doing jumping jacks for DPA (daily physical activity), students putting up art work, students putting up a Christmas tree and snowflakes, students playing ‘grab the chicken for PE’, students eating lunch, or students participating in chapel. We have a busy school and we utilize every square inch of it!

It is exciting to plan and look forward to a new gym, common area and classrooms. You have probably seen the big new wall boards in the entrances to our school which show our current plan and our vision for the future. This is a vision of great need. The new space we are planning to build is a much-needed space. It will add tremendously to the effectiveness of our programs and the positive culture in our school.

I’m amazed at the flexibility of our staff who have worked with the inconvenience of our current space for many years. Our staff are great problem solvers and they are very creative in finding ways to succeed in student learning while utilizing less-than-perfect facilities. Isn’t it wonderful that these programs all exist with such excellence and enthusiasm? Won’t it be great to see these programs in a new gym, home economics room and wood shop? We are very excited about the prospect!

There’s one more thing I should mention. When we built the play area we left it with a slope of about 18 inches from one end to the other (to save cost on fill). This is great for drying after a rain storm but not so good when you flood it for an ice rink. It was a big problem. In years past, we had to flood the rink for nearly 3 weeks until it ‘filled up’ and was flat. It was quite an inconvenience and quite a problem. The solution? Our maintenance director, Ian Hedges, built a zamboni in his garage out of the steel from the old swing set. Is that not one of the most creative solutions to a problem you’ve ever heard about? We put the ice rink together this year in 4 days thanks to Ian’s “Zambo”. The next time you see the “Zambo” out on the ice rink, say a prayer of thanks for the creative staff we have at this school that find ways to improve learning at Cedars. We are very fortunate, indeed.