Lisa Burke – Murch Elementary School

Amazing Broad Branch Stream Playground Coming to Murch

Lisa Burke — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 16:24:25 +0000

Get ready to ford a stream, climb into a fort, balance, spin, bounce, and zip! The big kid playground at Murch is wild! Designed to give our students a sense of place along The Fort Circle Park National Recreation Trail above our neighborhood’s Broad Branch stream valley, this adventurous playground takes our play space to new heights – literally! The equipment features a double decker fort, three different slide experiences, challenging and undulating climbers, spider web hide-aways, a four-person bouncing see saw, a “boogie board” balance hammock, a tight rope with overhead zip line handle, a rock wall and boulders, monkey bars, and a double-decker-inside-outside Global Spinner! With exciting elements for every ability level, this playground will quickly extinguish all memory of dusty mulch! Thanks to our wonderful parent community, the HSA was able to make a donation for awesome upgrades to the design. Thank you to our team at DCPS, DGS, and the playground designers for capturing the sense of Murch and the dreams of our students, and to SIT members Linda Komes and Sally Gresham for their invaluable expertise in helping the SIT evaluate the equipment options.

Renovation Update: One Year Down!

Lisa Burke — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 17:31:51 +0000

One year to go! As Murch students prepare to start their second and final year in their home away from home at Murch@UDC, construction back on 36th street continues on schedule for a July 2018 completion. Concrete foundations are curing and more than two-thirds of the steel framing for the new wing is up. Inside the historic building, new walls, windows, plumbing and electric are being installed. Watch this site for regular updates from DCPS.

A skeletal view of the 5th grade hallway

Below: Cafeteria
Above: temp. fence around rooftop school garden and PreK playground

Renovation Update: A Look Inside The Future Murch

Lisa Burke — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 14:07:41 +0000

Rendering of a new Murch Hallway

Check out the latest on the Murch renovation, posted on the DCPS Modernizations web page. DCPS posted two updates this month, as well as the presentation given to the School Improvement Team (SIT) in December. For the first time, you can see a rendering of the proposed building interiors and layouts to get a sense of what the new Murch will look like inside.

You may have noticed that the trailers on the 36th street side are finally gone. The project has received the Building Civil (BCIV) approval and there have been some machine deliveries in advance of excavation, which is expected to start in the next two weeks. Work also will begin soon on the temporary, construction curb cut on Ellicott Street, as the old Davenport entrance has already been torn up. With the building underway, design of the grounds is progressing. The project team met with the Murch Student Council on January 17th to get their input on playground equipment. It’s great that the team is involving the Murch kids in this process!

Finally, click here for the latest drawings, which will be presented to the Public Space Committee in February.

Stay tuned for more updates! If you have any questions questions or comments, reach out to Lisa Burke, SIT Chair.