July 30, 2008 – Bill's Blog

This is my first post about my new school.

I toured the high school campus yesterday with the school director and the construction project manager. The project is doubling the size of the high school building with an additional section on one side of the building and two floors added. The older part of the building is also getting a face lift, inside and out.

On the ground floor a new computer lab and storage areas were added for the IT department. The former computer lab was converted to a library, thus doubling the size of it. My office was moved from the first floor to a more spacious room on the ground floor. It will be better to be in the center of the action as a principal should be. There is also a larger reception area and the science laboratory was improved.

The first floor is the core area for student learning. New mathematics, humanities, and languages classrooms were added. The hallway and stairwell were enlarged, giving the students more space for lockers and to shuttle between classes. Below is a photo of the mathematics room.

The second floor has a spectacular new art studio. The students will be inspired by the expansive views of the southern forests and valleys of Belgrade. The large room will also serve as a place for student assemblies and teacher meetings.

The building is estimated to be done on the 5th of August. The changes will definitely improve student learning!

Gazebo, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

The title of this post is the address of our home in Serb Cyrillic script. In English, is 27 Kozjаčka Street. Kozjačka is the name of a mountain range near the Serbian and Macedonian border.

I took some photos of the house and our yard so my family back home can see where we are living. The school provides our housing and we are very happy at how nice it is. The yard is nice for the kids and the gazebo above is spectacular. Pity I am not much of a griller because we have a beautiful stone BBQ.

Our house is actually and apartment. They call these old buildings here “villas” and they are usually rented out each floor or section. The ground floor is our basement and two car garage. The second floor is our home, and the third floor are two apartments. We also have exclusive access to the yard so it feels like a home. Nadia has made the house her own and worked hard at arranging the furniture and buying lamps and carpets to make it look to her taste.

For more views, just go to our flickr account to see the rest of the house.

The neighborhood (suburb) of Senjak is located in the south part of the city, near the Sava River. It definitely has a European feel, it is similar to Mediterranean style of architecture and narrow streets of my summers in Mallorca, Spain. It is contrast with New Belgrade across the river, that feels more American with its wide streets. We are a 10-15 minute walk to school that is mostly through parks and the shops are just down the block. The river has a nice bike path and there are many parks and embassies just south us.