Parents of children attending Humboldt Public School (HPS) were given a chance to see concept plans for their new school at a meeting on October 12.
About 45 parents and a handful of children came to listen to and query G. Richard Stone of Stantec (Regina), the architect who designed the addition and renovation project.
It was a meeting that provided a lot of answers to questions that were still pending for the parents, staff, students and members of the general public who had given input as to their vision for the new HPS.
Most of those answers appear in black and white on the rendered drawings presented by Stone. However, the $11 million project still has to be approved by the Ministry of Education, which means the plans could -- and likely will -- change from what was presented.
In the concept drawings, the elevation depicted is a contemporary, low-rise edifice with quite a lot of glass surface on the outside.
"I've used glass elements to tie the existing spaces together," explained Stone. "It's a source of natural light and its how I break up and unite spaces."
Stone had specific criteria to meet when he undertook designing the project, which utilizes parts of two existing schools -- parts of the former Humboldt Collegiate Institute and part of the current HPS -- to make one. One of the criteria, Stone said, was that the Grade 6-8 students really wanted to be separate from the younger children.
Stone's conceptual drawings show that with the existing layout of the two schools, there can be one whole area for the classrooms and needs of the Grade 6-8s, while the other area, located on the current HPS site, will house all the classrooms for the Kindergarten to Grade 5s. Daycare facilities for toddlers and pre-schoolers would also be contained in that area.
In the Journal article of October 12, it was explained that the new HPS project involves renovations to the more recent buildings and demolishing the existing old brick building. New information revealed at the meeting was how the whole project will be unified by the new addition.
"We had the two existing elements," said Stone, "but it's still one school. I had to find a way to bring them together, and I did that by putting in the centre the communal spaces that can be used by everybody." That includes the gym and library spaces.
Many questions were addressed during the public meeting. One concern was about the increased physical size of standard classrooms (an average of 65 square metres, some a little more, some a little less) and whether it would mean an increase in the number of students in the classrooms.
Patricia Scott, Superintendent of Human Resources for the Horizon School Division (HZSD) No. 205 was on hand to help Stone answer such questions.
"If class sizes were going to be increased at HPS, they would be increased the same everywhere at HZSD," Scott said. "It's a decision the board makes. At the moment, the staffing ratio of pupils to teachers is 19.5:1."
Another question surrounded the construction time and how it would affect the students in their school year.
Stone replied that he hoped to be able to phase the renovations over about one and a half years. While tenders for the project will be going out in February 2012, and construction work beginning in April or May, Stone said it was possible that some spaces could be ready before the new school year in the fall of 2012. The end of 2013 is the projected completion date.
The architect plans to work on one wing of the project while keeping the other area still operable. Then, in a similar way, once the renovations are completed on the new wing, there would be a period of transition while construction and renovation is going on in the second area.
Neither the old HPS gymnasium nor the library will be kept in the school's new plans. A bonus for the school, though, is that the old HCI gymnasium - a 619 square metre gym that far exceeds the normal size for an elementary school gym - will be retained, and a brand new resource centre will be featured in the new addition.
With the proposed combination of renovations to the existing sections and new construction, one parent seemed concerned that the differences between the two schools would be visible.
Stone assured parents that he had taken that into consideration when designing the project.
"You really won't be able to tell," the architect said. "Someone not knowing can walk through the school and not be able to tell what the old part is and what the new part is."
