A $32-MILLION WELCOME BACK
New Leamington school impresses
Even the Grade 12s, who occupy the pinnacle of any high school social structure, were wide-eyed and looked lost searching for their next class at the new Leamington District Secondary School.
Like a giant Christmas present, the 940 students moved through the new school taking the wraps off the building as its doors were officially opened for the first day of school.
“It makes me want to go back to Grade 9 and get to experience every class and see all these new things here,” said Grade 12 student Scott Plancke, who’s also student Prime Minister.
At the centre of the $32-million school is an atrium that serves as the students’ common gathering place bordered by the library, main office and a computer lab.
It’s a soaring space featuring an industrial design that’s flooded with natural light and serves as a magnet drawing in students for lunch or just to hang out.
Standing in the middle of it all stood principal Kyle Berard directing traffic.
“It’s beautiful new environment and it’s very welcoming,” said Berard, who added the school is built to hold 1,000 students but could handle 100 to 200 more if required.
“We have an awesome staff and now we have a facility to match. We want kids to want to be here, to be engaged in their learning.
“This school will help us do that because it makes the learning more relevant to their lives and what they may do in the future,” he said. Hallways and the main staircase to the second floor reach out from the atrium.
There’s a technical wing, a science, technology, engineering and math floor, a physical education wing featuring an enormous triple gym and a central student services department.
“It looks awesome,” said Jake Valda, a Grade 12 student and secretary on student council.
“It was a bit confusing this morning trying to find where everything is, ” he added. “The school has the feel more of a university than a high school.”
Leamington is literally a school from a different century starting with the use of green technology in its construction to the innovative programming and resources inside.
You won’t find a single stick of chalk anywhere in the building, but you will find whiteboards, more than 250 computers, mobile laptop stations, fibre-optic internet service and a computer and communications studio capable of producing movies or broadcasting the Leamington Lions’ football games from the athletic complex being built beside the school.
The vastly improved athletic facilities, which include a 2,500-square-foot weight room to be filled with $100,000 worth of equipment, impressed Dahlia Rosati.
“I’m into fitness and play volleyball and badminton so that’s the most exciting thing for me,” said Rosati, a Grade 12 student.
“The old gym was cramped. The old school just seemed so much more closed and dark,” she added. “Everything here is more comfortable, open and there’s more natural light.”
In the technical wing you’ll also find a full automotive shop, a woodworking facility and a $500,000 professional kitchen at the heart of the popular culinary program.
There are six science labs and a computer science program where students build computers and create apps.
Also unique is the school was designed around the programs to be offered and after consultation with staff and students. That’s resulted in a lot of common areas that have flexible uses and encourage collaborative learning.
“I’m teaching with another teacher and that’s something I haven’t done in 20 years,” said George Egglezos, head of business studies, co-op and computer science.
“We can use this room as one big space to combine two classes or we can divide it for just one class. We have so much flexibility.”