The Irving Schoolyard Blog
This is the best place to keep up with the latest Irving Schoolyard Project happenings.
Masterplan Presentation on January 18th
For those who did not make it to the January 18th Master Plan presentation at Irving school, below are the materials presented, handed-out and an archive of the live webcast that was available. Thank you to SEOPCO for running a great Q&A session after the presentation. They did a wonderful job, as usual. >> Project background presentation (part 1) >> Master Plan presentation (part 2) >> Full Combined presentation >> Handout: An Oak Park Opportunity >> Schoolyard Project Volunteer Form Watch...
read moreTrack the Energy Produced by Irving’s Solar Array
You now have the ability to track the energy that the Irving solar panels are producing in near real-time by following this link. You can also check historical data by looking back as the last week, month or months and see how this compares to current output. This website, plus some additional reporting that is available for administrative users that are logged-in, are all part of the curriculum that teachers will use to teach about solar power. Thanks again to the Ragnar team for raising money with all those miles of...
read moreSolar Panels Installed at Irving
A group of local parents raised about $13,000 for the panels during a June 2011 fundraising race called the Chicago Ragnar relay, by running from Madison, Wisconsin back to Chicago. These funds were added to a grant awarded to Irving from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation on May 13, 2011. The grant ended up funding $8000 of the total cost of the project with the rest coming from the private funds raised by the community. The roof-mounted panels are located at the South end of school for a nearly – but not 100% –...
read moreThe Master Plan
Interested in learning about the proposed master plan for Irving’s Schoolyard? This is the page to visit. We are continuing to work on this page to make as many details about the plan accessible to a wide audience. Some portions of the plan are very technical and other parts are still at a stage of the process where presenting them as finalized would be premature so you won’t find every aspect of the plan here yet. That said, we continue to update this page as the master plan gets updated with new information. If you have...
read morePublic Meeting – January 18th
The Irving Schoolyard Project will host a public meeting in the Irving Auditorium on Wednesday, January 18 @ 7pm. The landscape architecture firm, Site Design Group, will be presenting the Irving Schoolyard master plan. There will be a brief update for those who are new to Irving… and a time for questions and answers following the presentation. Thank you to SEOPCO for moderating this public meeting. All of Oak Park is invited to attend this important milestone. Save the date! If your interested in helping to spread the word, click here...
read moreWelcome Green Connections Bike Tour Participants
On Saturday, September 24, 2011, Irving School is hosting the Green Community Connections Bike Tour. We’re thrilled to have people wheel through our garden to learn more about our outdoor classroom initiatives. Take a look at our pre-construction design drawings and the overview of the site plan with our goals. Here’s what Green Community Connections has to say about Irving on the Bike Tour: Irving School Garden and Schoolyard Project: With limited green space on school property, the Irving Garden is the first step in the school’s larger...
read moreJune Update on Project
We are almost complete with our pre-construction architectural drawings and cost estimates. We are planning on refining the cost estimates over the next few weeks and should have a ‘final’ version of them ready for the public by mid-July. The next step will be to hold a public forum to unveil the plans and update everyone in the community that has been so helpful in driving this project forward. Look for that meeting to be scheduled for early September, once school is back in session. We will spread the word through our Facebook...
read moreIrving Parents will run the Madison to Chicago Ragnar Relay this Friday.
Only days to the starting gun. The 2011 Ragnar Relay kicks off for the Soaring Schoolyard Eagles this Friday at 830A. We’re all very excited to be running this weekend and are happy to have had the opportunity to participate in this great effort. Follow our updates from the road during the 197 mile relay on and . As of today our Chicago Ragnar Relay team has raised over $11,000! If you are still interested in contributing, it’s not too late. Contributions of any size are welcome. Please click the banner below if you’d like...
read moreSoaring Schoolyard Eagles Fundraising Update 6/5
Less than a week to the starting gun. The 2011 Ragnar Relay kicks off for the Soaring Schoolyard Eagles this Friday at 830A. If you are still interested in contributing, it’s not too late. As of today our Chicago Ragnar Relay team has raised over $10,000! Contributions of any size are welcome. Please click the banner below if you’d like to donate online, or send a check to The Irving School PTO 1125 S. Cuyler Ave. Oak Park, IL 60304 payable to Irving School PTO – Ragnar Relay. Thank...
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