A video rendering recently presented to the school board displays the sleek, modern design of the proposed new elementary school in Albion.
The school will be on property the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District owns on 104th Avenue near 240th Street.
It will consist of an elementary school, a neighbourhood learning centre, a community centre and two shared play fields.
Education Minister Mike Bernier made the announcement last year about the new $24.4 million school with 585 student spaces.
Community consultations took place for the facility starting in Feb. 2016.
South Albion Elementary from School District 42 on Vimeo.
The six-minute video, presented by CHP Architects on Mar. 7, shows an aerial view of the new complex, which includes a soccer field, an outdoor basketball court and two tennis courts.
It follows a series of walking paths outside the building showing off the sleek design of the centre and outdoor play gyms for children before heading inside to the new library, indoor gym, learning studio and collaborative learning centre.
The CHP Architects website explains that the one-storey school design will include learning “pods” organized in communities within the school, which will provide a more intimate experience for the students.
The elementary school will also have a safe drop-off zone and safe pedestrian and cyclist access.
In addition to the elementary school will be the Neighbourhood Learning Centre, which will be open after school hours. It will have an enlarged learning commons area and library, a shared outdoor amphitheatre, a community centre, a shared community gathering and gallery space, an art studio, a music and drama studio, exterior access washrooms and sports and equipment storage and covered links between the areas.
There will also be early learning facilities, collaborative learning communities, a youth and seniors centre with cooking classes, art workshops and composting program, a cafe, library and learning commons, an outdoor arts and theatre and learning with nature, dance classes, music classes and a space for community assembly, an outdoor learning studio and outdoor play structures.
Construction of the new community centre is expected to begin in October, along with the new $24 million South Albion elementary school.
The city has budgeted $8.5 million for the community centre.
Depending on funding available, and feasibility, the new centre could have solar cells on the roof, geothermal heating, and stormwater infiltration so that rainwater gets absorbed into the ground rather than wash into the sewers.
The school does not have a name yet. The board sought public input on three names for the school: James Sinclair elementary, after the first school teacher in Maple Ridge; Baker elementary, after Peter Baker, an early French settler from Quebec and the first non-native settler in Maple Ridge; or Spencer Creek elementary, after the stream in the riparian area of the property of the new school.
“The public consultation on the name for the new elementary school is still ongoing,” explained Irena Pochop, with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district.
“The school district is now consulting with First Nations groups,” she added.
The community centre is expected to be open by August, 2019 and the new school ready for the 2019/2020 school year.
