by Adam Gault
The Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) released a video presentation on Thursday, January 21, highlighting the design and building specs for the new K – 12 public school to be constructed on Jasperson Drive in Kingsville.
The nearly 200,000 square foot mega-school will be designed to instruct up to 1,045 elementary, and 753 secondary students, in addition to a dedicated community daycare as part of the building.
This new school will replace Kingsville District High School, Jack Miner Public School, and Kingsville Public School, with graduates of Harrow Public School able to attend high school at the new building when completed.
In this latest design, the school will have two distinct and separate driveways and entrances for elementary and secondary students in order to provide a distinct presence to both sections of the school, with the secondary portion taking up the northern half and the elementary on the south.
One way drop-off lanes will be constructed for each school zone to safely drop off students in close proximity to their respective school entrance.
“There will be ample parking and drop-off space to provide a continual flow of traffic, with a reduced speed, to enhance the level of safety and security for each zone,” Marcie James of Architecttura Inc. said, which is one of the design firms for the project.
The gymnasium will be featured at the centre of the two-storey construction, with classrooms for both elementary and secondary students to be placed along the outside perimeter of the building.
“We have purposely planned the location of all classrooms along the perimeter of each zone to maximize daylight harvesting for energy efficiency,” James explained. “The exterior of the building is designed to create a unified building concept for elementary school, secondary school, and daycare.”
Exterior finishes on the building will consist of energy-efficient insulated architectural panels for the upper section of the building, with a high percentage of exterior glazing to enhance daylighting within the internal part of the building.
“We have spent endless hours with the [architectural] firm, as well as community members, as well as nearly the entire staff of the school, both elementary and secondary, receiving input into what is going to become a beautiful building,” GECDSB Superintendent of Education School Development and Design, Todd Awender, said. “We’re at a process now, where we’re showing the community where we are in the designs to hear your comments or questions, and to allow you the opportunity to see where we’re going.”
The full video presentation can be viewed on YouTube at the channel “GEDCSBMediaCentre.” Questions or concerns can be sent through email to Kingsville.K-12@publicboard.ca
The design and budget for the new school will be reviewed by the GECDSB Board of Trustees at an upcoming February meeting, where if approved, will be sent to the Ministry of Education for further review or approval.
According to the GECDSB, ground breaking on the new build may still be a minimum of two years away.