Many people are wondering what is going on with the huge wooden walls in the halls while they are walking to their classes. They may also wonder what the loud banging sounds coming from behind those boards are.

Wahlert has started the renovation to the northeast side of the main building, on all 3 levels.

People in the halls think, “They are tearing down the walls,” “The construction workers are striping everything down,” and “They are hammering.” All of these answers are somewhat right, but to touch on the progress of the renovation, Principal Ron Meyers gave a brief overview of what’s going.

“The whole project started around mid-January with the asbestos removal on the 3rd level. There was a team of five guys who came in and scraped the asbestos off the concrete ceilings,” said Meyers.

He continued, “The crew then took the concrete ceiling down and power washed the the metal layer above that.” This process took about a month. Asbestos abatement on the second and first floor are next in the plans.

While that was going on inside the building, the sound of construction equipment of backing open also turned eyes during the day. Outside of the areas that were being cleaned out, a group of workers made a ramp for trucks and larger equipment to get in so they can remove all the trash and other materials that were removed from inside.

Raising money for the renovation is ongoing. So far, 16.2 million has been raised in the Soaring Capital Campaign, and donations are still coming in.

Renovation plans include remodeling of science classrooms and others, installation of a main staircase from the bridge all the way down to 1st floor, bathroom renovations, and replacing the heating system as well as installing air conditioning.

This renovation will take the whole summer, so by next year the school will be looking different than before. If you have any more questions or you would like to follow this renovation, go to the Dubuque Holy Family website and click on the “renovation updates” tab.