th grade culture trip to Oslo - the International School of Stavanger

From the Director:Previously you have read my description of improvements slatedfor the school’s theatre this summer. By replacing the seats, weaccomplish two goals. First to replace the worn seating, andmore importantly, to install new seats that conform to upgradedsafety regulations to quicken emergency evacuation procedures.The new codes require a “more upright seat” which widens theescape route between rows.Another facility upgrade decision taken by the Board just beforewe started the Easter holiday will have, we believe, a broadimpact on each student in the school on a daily basis—bothfrom the point of safety, but also from the viewpoint of pureenjoyment!A New Playground!As soon as school finishes in June, construction will start onwhat we will expect to be a wonderful new addition to ourfacility. When students come back to school in August, theywill find waiting for them the new ISS Athletic and RecreationalOutdoor Area. Instead of the current playground area, therewill be a new enclosed football field, new basketball court andnew playground equipment. The entire area will be covered inpadded artificial turf, saving countless hours of playsuit washingby our parents and easing the corridor washing tasks for ourcleaning staff.Several months ago the school commissioned a professionalsafety audit of the playground. New EU standards have beenadopted by Norway and we wanted to take a proactive positionon making sure our playground met the new codes. The resultstold us that some changes needed to take place immediately,(and those were completed during the February holiday), andothers would need to be done during the summer. Our taskwas to consider whether we should a) remove all the playgroundequipment, b) provide a “partial facelift” at a substantial cost tomeet the new standards, or c) use the new safety requirements asa catalyst to create a completely new and modern facility. Aftercarefully considering each of the above, the Board decided toseize the opportunity to enact a totally new concept.All of our current playground equipment was purchased here inScandinavia and erected following the requirements at the timeof installation. But as in all things connected with safety, ruleschange and those changes enhance safe use. As an exampleof the new safety codes, I’ll use our swingsets. . . the postssupporting the swings are each 12 cm in diameter. The newcodes require a minimum of 14 cm diameter posts, so they willall need replacement. · The Informer 20 April, 2007The rational for the project has the following purpose and fourmain goals:1. Respond to the recent external safety audit requiring repairand removal of some equipment and surfaces that do notmeet upgraded Norwegian safety standards;2. Provide a long-term solution that will offer a safe andenjoyable environment with equipment and a surface thatmeets safety codes with a 10-year guarantee;A new playground will let kidsof all ages tumble and play safely