Dirt & Dust

For anyone who was watching the live webcam this week it is clear that the primary theme was "Dirt & Dust".  The week was dry with temperatures in the 90's which is great for getting work done but there was a steady stream of dust in the air as four long dumpers deposited uncountable loads of dirt to be packed and leveled.

Also going on this past week was work on moving one of the light post which is being move a little bit south to make room for an additional road along the south and east sides of the new building. The road is a building code regulation so that firetrucks have access to all sides of the new building.

Extension of the the exsisting rainwater culvert about 25 yards and the building of a rainwater basin to hold run-off from the new building roof were also projects underway.

It looks like site prep is finished or close to finished and ready to move on to construction. There should be some surveying work going on real soon.

More Photos

Fill Dirt Added To Building Site

Dirt being moved from south campus to the construction site.

Starting on Friday June 4 fill dirt was being added to the building site. The source of this fill dirt is from another place on the Mount Michael grounds located behind the tree line south of the water treatment plant and apple orchard.  It's entrance is directly across from the intersection of Mount Michael Road and the schools drive way.  

They made lots of progress on Friday but a heavy down pour of over one inch of rain Friday evening left things pretty muddy. Never-the-less the work crew was back at it on Saturday.  They scrapped the muddiest top layer to the ends of the site to dry and commenced where they left off.

The DJ Sokol Learning for Life Building will be on slightly higher ground than the existing building once all the dirt is hauled in and compacted.   It is estimated that it will take about 50 uncountable loads to provide enough material for the desired elevation.    

More Photos: Site Prep - Fill Dirt 

Dirt dumped on the construction site to raise the elevation

Site Preparation

Dirt work has begun and will take about 10 working days.  If the weather cooperates this first stage should be done sometime in the first week of June.

During this phase they are removing trees, removing some old no longer used cable that is buried in the area and leveling, raising and packing dirt.

The Live WebCam is now available  with links on the School Homepage, News Blog and this Construction Blog.

Construction Is Set To Begin

The contract has been signed today with Meco-Henne Construction. Work on the new building will begin in earnest the week of May 16^th. 

This is a very important day in the history, and future, of Mount Michael Benedictine School.

Update for the Now is the Time Campaign

The DJ Sokol Learning for Life Building, in memory of DJ Sokol ‘99, has been made possible by David and Peggy Sokol along with their daughter Kelly Sokol Avery.  The Benedictine Community cannot say thank you enough for their continued support to Mount Michael Benedictine and the $5,000,000 gift that they have made.

In working towards matching the gift provided by the Sokol family, current sophomore parents Steve and Tammy Reynolds have made a gift of $125,000 to the campaign along with a challenge themselves.  They have agreed to match their gift in one year, if we are able to match their gift 10 times.  This would enable Mount Michael to match the Sokol gift with $1,375,000 if the challenge is met.  Thank you very much, Steve and Tammy, for realizing the urgency behind raising these dollars and helping the community pull together to raise the funds needed to complete the academic facility.  With this kind of support from our Mount Michael family the school cannot fail to soar to new heights.

- Kimberly A. Volpone Director of Advancement