Plans for the new Catholic elementary school in Innisfil were revealed at the Simcoe Muskoka District Catholic School Board (SMCDSB) Meeting Wednesday night.
The school is slated to open in fall 2023 as part of the new subdivision community in Lefroy on McMaster Avenue, at the southeast corner of 20th Sideroad and Killarney Beach Road. The site acquisition process is currently underway.
The Innisfil Catholic Elementary school was ranked second on the list of the Board's Capital Plan of priorities in response to the Ministry of Education’s 2019-20 Capital Priorities Program. The project was approved in March 2020, to complete a 401 student school, complete with 49 child care spaces for a total value of $11,211,846.
To address growth projections in Innisfil, the Board requested an additional four classrooms, for a total of 493 student spaces. In November 2021, the Ministry of Education approved funding of the four extra classrooms at a cost of $2,219,212, bringing the total funding for the project to $13,431,058.
Thomas Wilson of The Ventin Group presented the design plans to the Board Wednesday night.
The 42,634 sq. ft. school will be a two-storey, L-shaped design with three entrances facing north on McMaster Avenue. It will have an isolated bus loop at the north side, with a one-way bus entry and exit, separate from the parent-student drop-off area on the east side of the building.
The Kindergarten and childcare centre will have its own separate entrance beside the eastside parking lot. The 4,704 sq. ft. child care centre is a three-room facility that connects to the school but has the ability to function independently.
In between the parking lot and Kindergarten area will be a landscape buffer, "to create a real separation of parents and cars coming and going". The design will incorporate mostly native plants, shade trees, and colourful perennials and shrubs that are thornless, seedless and low-maintenance.
Inside the building, the architects have adopted what they call a "town square model" that organizes the public spaces of the building.
On the Ground Floor will be the administration office, library, chapel, gym with a raised stage, childcare centre, Kindergarten rooms and other classrooms and an atrium lonby to create an open, bright environment that connects to the second floor.
The chapel will be located next to the library at the front of the building with a cross window design that will illuminate the interior in the day, and exterior at night. The chapel has been designed to accommodate a full class of students but can open up to expand to the remainder of the library for larger events.
On the second floor is where the rest of the classrooms will be. Each classroom will be equipped with its own HVAC system for better circulation and increased efficiency.
"We are providing fresh air to each class individually. Each class is getting fresh air directly from outside," said Wilson.
Wilson highlighted the building's accessibility features.
"The movement in accessibility has been growing over the number of years," he said, noting that more than half the doors at the school will have barrier-free access.
The elevator will be located in the centre of the building. All washrooms will have doorless entry systems. A wayfinding sign will be installed and incorporate brail. The staircases will have high contrast finishes and the top risers will have tactile markers so students with visual impairments can find their way down the stairs easily.
In the parking lot, there will be two van-accessible parking spaces as well as regular-sized vehicle-accessible parking spaces. There will also be rolled curbs at the drop-off areas, and accent lighting at entrances and circulation nodes.
Wilson noted the building's sustainable design, modelled after the new Catholic elementary school in Alliston.
"We know from that, the energy model for this will perform at 25 per cent better than Ontario building code requirements," said Wilson. The design includes low consumption LED lighting while maximizing daylighting opportunities.
"We have been building schools a long time, we know these are 50, 60-year-old buildings, they take a lot of wear and tear," said Wilson. "One of our main agendas is to ensure we use durable material."
After the presentation, the Board was able to ask questions.
Trustee Catherine McDonald wanted reassurance that the parent-student drop-off area wouldn't cause congestion on the streets once the neighbourhood builds up.
Thomas highlighted the one-way loop for drop-offs, that could hold approximately 14 cars in the cue. He noted the estimated drop-off time for children in grades above Kindergarten, was approximately three to four minutes.
He added that parents who want to escort their children to the school would be able to use the parking lot, which he assured: "won't be full".
"There should be 30 spaces open at any given time for parents to escort their kids," Wilson said, noting those visits are typically longer at around seven to eight minutes long.
Another fundamental piece of the drop-off area design, he said, is the width of the driveway, which can allow for overflow of cars, ensuring they are not cued up onto McMaster Avenue.
"We have ensured that bus drop off will be completely separate and not impact parents dropping off at all," he added.
Trustee Maria Hardie wanted to know if there would be a fence in between the landscaping buffer and the Kindergarten area. Thomas confirmed there would be fencing to fully secure the Kindergarten play yard.
The Board was enthusiastic about the plan and expect to make an official communication announcement with the MPP at a later date.
The school boundary is yet to be determined. According to the report from the Board, a boundary review is anticipated to be initiated in the fall of 2022, which will include existing boundaries of Holy Cross CES and St. Francis of the Assisi CES.
The design presentation can be viewed online here.
