Students celebrated 102 years of learning today in Coldstream by officially opening their new elementary school, a green facility that ensures rural families have access to quality education while supporting a healthy environment, Education Minister George Abbott said today.

Located in the Coldstream Valley southeast of Vernon, the school was designed to fit into the natural surroundings of Coldstream Park and reflect the rural lifestyle and rich agricultural history of the region.

The official opening of the new $13.6-million school will mark a legacy of more than 100 years of education at the site - from its beginnings as a modest one-room school house, to the state-of-the art, green school of today.

Some of the features of the new school include:

A unique selection of colour materials to reflect a typical fall day in the nearby Coldstream Park, including greens, reds and yellows. The corridors also feature blue-coloured flooring to depict a nearby stream.

• Curved benches in the main foyer that allow children and parents to gather. These have become a popular area for imaginative games at recess and lunch.
• A horizontal geothermal field under the soccer field for heating the school.
• An irrigation system hooked up to the weather station so that watering the fields is controlled depending on how much it has rained.
• Occupancy sensors in all the classrooms turn lights on when a room is entered, off when the room is no longer occupied.
• Various trees and shrubs to provide shaded areas for the school.
• Each classroom has two computer stations, and the school has a wireless network.
• A new parking lot that includes a bus superstation and parent drop off zones. The design ensures buses no longer stop traffic on Kalamalka Road, easing the morning commute.

Quick Facts:

The new Coldstream Elementary was built on the same site as the 102-year-old Coldstream Elementary.

• It has a capacity of 40 kindergarten and 375 elementary students in grades 1-7.
• Library glazing from the main entrance illustrates a glass mural showing some of the local animals and allowing people to see through the library to the green space behind the school.
• It was built to Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Gold standards with a focus on sustainability, water and energy efficiency, indoor environment quality and innovative design.
• Rainwater is gathered in a bioswale located in the centre of the parking lot that captures all the storm water from the site and cleans the water before it returns to the soil.
• The school was built to allow maximize natural lighting in the corridors, classrooms and group spaces.
• On the library exterior window, there are sunshades that allow staff to control the amount of natural light that enters the room.
  
• Since 2001, the Province has invested more than $16.2 million in capital projects for the Vernon school district.
• In addition, the Province is investing $165,000 for 11 classroom conversions for full-day kindergarten.
• Since 2001, the Province has committed more than $3.9 billion to school capital and maintenance projects throughout B.C.

Learn More:

To learn more about B.C. Capital Planning:

www.bced.gov.bc.ca/capitalplanning/

For Capital Planning resources, visit: www.bced.gov.bc.ca/capitalplanning/resources/resources.htm

Media Contact:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Education
250 356-5963