Dear Community,
Last week, we held a town hall meeting to update and discuss the WIS Cooler Classrooms Initiative which was launched in October 2023. The slides used for this presentation are linked here.
We are delighted to share that we will be moving forward with this initiative in three key areas:
A second 50 kWh solar power project on campus.
The current solar power project is significantly reducing carbon emissions and reducing our City of Windhoek bill, so that we are on track for a 5-6 year payoff on that 2022 investment. This new project will be completed in June/July 2024 at the cost of N$683,620.40 by Engineering Centre CC, the same cost as the previous project. When completed, this solar project is anticipated to have a similar 5-6 year payoff on this 2024 capital investment.
Installation of Air Conditioning units in classrooms
The school conducted a tender for the commissioning of Air Conditioning Units, and received 18 bids. The winning bid has been selected at a cost of N$1,599,717.85, and Air Cool CC will commence construction for this project after the last day of school. The air conditioners are to be located in all classrooms except for those in the PLC and one or two additional secondary classrooms where the emphasis will be to trial alternative cooling systems (see below). The project will move forward for completion before the start of the new school year.
Environmental solutions to cool classrooms
There are a number of additional improvements we intend to make to improve the learning conditions of our campus. These include painting roofs white, planting trees, increased use of shade awnings, new covered walkways, creating cross ventilation, and evaporative mist cooling. These environmental strategies will be integrated as soon as possible, but we require additional donations in order to see through some of the tree planting, shade awnings, and water dispensers we have planned.
We have received around N$100,000 in commitments thus far, and we are still fundraising to offset capital costs of this important learning-focused initiative. If you would like to sponsor an air conditioner in a particular classroom then please donate N$25,000 and speak with myself or Yolanda Visser for the details. If you wish to put N$1000 towards shade and tree planting, then donations can be paid directly into the school bank account using the Reference: COOLKIDS with your name.
Please also send your Proof of Payment to Ms Yolanda @ yvisser@wis.edu.na
Bank details are as follows:
Bank Windhoek Limited
Account name: Windhoek International School
Account number: 1177599901
Branch: Windhoek 481-972
Thank you for your support!
Ethan Van Drunen
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