Having a little fun in our new home! (Dunagan’s Blog)

Options Westfield staff photo

We are just a month away from finishing the Westfield campus and moving into our new home.  The parking lot is missing the asphalt, but otherwise is serving its purpose, a muddy one at that!  The front courtyard is being prepped for the concrete and is all but done.  The exterior metal has gone up and it looks incredible.  With so much being completed the staff and I could not stand it any longer, so we decided to stop by and have a little fun. We were out in the area visiting our new neighbors and decided to stop in and see the progress.

Allan B

Allan thought I told him it was moving time, so he grabbed one of his most prized items from his office to take and set up.  He can’t go anywhere without his boy Peyton (Manning)! Allan was checking out the offices trying to size up which would fit it the best. I caught Allan in the sensory room.  The ceiling tiles are about to go up.  He thought this might be a good space for the Colts to live in.

Jenny Hoshor

Jenny decided to try out her new office. She still needs her desk installed, but she is really going to love all the extra space.  She was checking attendance today at the office. You can tell she is really going to love this space and greeting students and staff each day. The window is already at a better height for her to work at.

JD Thompson

JD decided to try a little of the Dark Arts action in his new classroom. He is doing his best Professor Snape impression here. I am not sure exactly what he is working on here, but when we left, he said “all the tests came back positive” with a big thumbs up. I really hope the construction team didn’t mind us using their tool chest. We know the new campus is not Hogwarts, but it feels just as special to us!

Sean in classroom

Sean was so excited to have a classroom with windows! So, we gave him a room with two sets.  He couldn’t believe how bright the classroom was. All the natural light and green space around him made him feel like he was on the putting green. When we headed over, he told me he was going to work on some notes for his world history class. I guess with The Masters just finishing in April, he was reenacting the greatest moments in the History of The Masters instead. I know he will really enjoy this new space, he told me as we left that he had room for a putting green in the front of his room. He did sink it in one putt!

Gretchen Taylor on campus

Gretchen and the juniors have been reading The Hate You Give in English, so Gretchen decided to try out her new classroom. She grabbed a chair and her favorite stuffed animal and read the next chapter that the class will be going over, in her new space. She told me that the test run was a success! This room is going to be filled with some great conversations connecting literature to students’ real-life experiences.

For those that don’t know, Phil is more than just a math teacher. When he is not beating students at one-on-one on the basketball court, he is challenging anyone to any type of competition. He doesn’t just keep it on the sports fields either. Here, you can see him stacking several different styles of Rubik’s cubes that he just solved. The man is a genius.

We then swung over to the middle school wing, yes that is correct, I said wing. The middle schoolers will have an entire side of the building! This is going to give us a lot more space to work with our middle school students. Steve was just finishing up a video chat with a student, so he decided to show off a little bit of the math that they were working on together in his new classroom. As our middle school students will share, Steve is always willing to take a moment and help a student make sure they understand the concept they’re learning.

Some of the teachers and Joe were trying out the teacher “work” room.  I popped in to check on them and had to remind Joe that golf is an outside activity. We don’t want to damage any of the walls or windows. In a month, the teachers will be able to gather around a table to chat and discuss at the end of a great day. They told me I was not allowed in their space moving forward.  I guess we will know where to find them when I need them 🙂

As you can see from the pictures, the ceiling tiles are going up. We are a few touch-ups on painting and flooring away from being complete. Then we can start to move in and set up all the new furniture. I am looking forward to our first Open House in June to tour everyone around.

We finished our tour coming back to the front of the building and my office. The glass windows have arrived and have been installed at the front of the building that includes the office area. I decided to try out the new office, of course, Allan wanted the Colts to join me. I am looking forward to setting up the new space soon. I decided to ask the Magic 8 Ball if our new school year was going to be the best year yet and “You may rely on it” was its reply. I cannot wait to start the new school year with this great group of people!

We’re hosting over 20 free events at Options Westfield this summer, starting May 18, so make plans to join us!

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