Condor School*

Key features:

• New 300 student Grade K-6 Elementary School that allows for future modular classroom expansion
• Gathering and collaboration spaces throughout the school encourages flexible learning spaces for a variety of group sizes.
• Natural light into interior spaces
• Community fundraising and support from Clearwater County allowed for enhancements to the kitchen/servery area. 

Site:

The footprint of the school remains in much the same place as the original school building leaving room for the skating rinks to remain in place.  In addition to the rinks, community amenities such as the south east baseball diamond and select play structures will remain on site.  Final stages will include the relocation of the new play structure at David Thompson High School to the Condor School site.

The design also allows for a separation of bus traffic from parent pick up/drop off and staff/visitor traffic. This will ensure that students can access the school directly and safely. 

School:

The main entrance has a strong presence and faces Range Road 4-5 for easy identification. Directly off the entrance, the administration area welcomes students, staff and the general public to the school and also allows for clear sight lines and visibility to the new parking lot and student drop-off.

The layout of the school addresses ease of wayfinding for younger students with dedicated wings. The primary school classrooms wing is located to the North and the grades 4 to 6 classrooms wing is located to the South. 

The learning commons and flex space are the physical and functional centre of the school and provide a highly flexible and changeable plan. These spaces do not act as distinct rooms and are open to the surrounding classrooms in order to encourage interaction and provide flexibility to teaching spaces. Flexibility is further enhanced with movable walls between classrooms and the learning commons. Classrooms are also arranged via pod groupings to create even more opportunity for collaborative spaces. 

The gymnasium, main entrance, and central gathering space create a large volume at the core where clerestory windows allow for significant, controlled daylight.The connective circulation through the school provides an opportunity for students to interact, while offering clear site lines for teachers to monitor multiple areas with ease.  The main corridor and centralized gymnasium allow for reasonable travel distances for students to access all classrooms and amenity spaces throughout the building.

Lock off points in the school support community after hours use of the kitchen/servery, gathering space, washrooms and gym.  

Classrooms:

Classrooms are spread between the two wings of the school so as to not overload one area of the school and cause congestion in the corridors and washrooms. The design also provides separation for the various grade configurations. All classrooms will have consistent millwork storage with sinks to allow for future flexibility. Ancillary spaces have been designed as multi-purpose instructional spaces and will be used as homeroom classrooms.

Gymnasium:

The gymnasium is a two station gym with a divider curtain to allow two separate learning areas in the gym. Game lines for a main basketball court, regulation volleyball court, handball court, and badminton are provided.

Kitchen / Servery:

This space is equipped to facilitate occasional student food service as well as food and/or beverage service to extracurricular activities in the gymnasium. Community fundraising and support from Clearwater County allowed for enhancements to the kitchen/servery area. 

Leslieville Junior / Senior High School*

Key features:

• Opening capacity of 275 with the ability to accommodate 425 students through the addition of modular classrooms.
• Large gathering space adjacent to the Library provides a central hub of the school
• Movable classroom partitions enhance flexibility of learning spaces
• Community fundraising and support from Clearwater County has allowed for oversized gymnasium and CTS spaces.

Site:

Leslieville Junior / Senior High School replacement school is located on the same site as the existing school and will face Highway 761. The skating rink will remain in its current location. 

The existing parking and drop-off areas have been reconfigured to separate bus traffic from student, parent and staff traffic.  The staff parking and CTS loading area are located at the South side of the school.  

School:

The main entrance is oriented towards the West, with close proximity to the student drop-off and parking.  This provides a clearly identified entrance which welcomes students, staff and the general public to the school and is highly visible from the main road.  This is further enhanced through the architectural massing and materials of the entrance as well as with school signage, landscaping and site elements such as concrete paths and exterior landscaping.  

With a broad range of students, wayfinding is important.  Providing visual destinations and central gathering spaces, students will naturally find their way through the school.  The layout of the school allows for dedicated wings which will enable the different grades to establish identities in different parts of the building.

The overall layout has a library, a central gathering area, and a gymnasium. The library and gathering space have a larger volume to allow for clerestory windows above to provide natural light into the center of the building and become a destination within the school. This area can be locked off during after-hours for community use.

The administration suite is located at the front of the school for ease of supervision for all visitors entering the school but also for supervision of the student drop-off area as well as overlooking the gathering space. This arrangement also allows for easier student wayfinding while offering clear site lines for teachers to monitor multiple areas.  Instructional spaces between the north classrooms will have moveable partitions between them. These spaces will maximize flexibility and may function as a stand alone classroom, a break-out space, or may enlarge a typical classroom.

Classrooms:

Classrooms are spread between the two wings of the school.  This is to not overload one area of the school and cause congestion in the corridors and washrooms as well as providing separation for the various grade configurations.  Each wing of the school has its own washrooms and drinking fountains. 

Specialized teaching spaces include

• One science classroom has been provided along with an associated science prep area. 
• A large ancillary room to act as a multi-purpose room for a variety of instructional activities. By providing standard classroom amenities with a minimum of built-in furniture, the space will be able to be flexible and offer a variety of subjects.
• CTS Automotives will house various equipment for servicing vehicles and will provide two (2) bays with direct access to the exterior service area. CTS Automotives will also house four (4) welding bays and a small fabrication area.
• The CTS Woods area will contain various woodworking equipment.

Gymnasium:

Through community partnership, the gymnasium is expanded beyond the funded area allocation from Alberta Education. The gymnasium is a two station gym with a dividing curtain to allow for two separate learning spaces.  Game lines for a main basketball court, regulation volleyball court, handball, and badminton are provided. Lock off points in the school support after hours use of the kitchen/servery, gathering space, washrooms and gym.  

Kitchen / Servery:

This space is an extension of the CTS foods classroom and can be used by the CTS class to provide programming aimed towards a commercial kitchen.  As well, this proximity allows for larger events to be hosted through the servery.  The location adjacent to the gathering space allows this space to be used during lunch and after hours to offer a variety of food services.

* School names are placeholders as school names have not been decided at this time.

Click here to view the designs for the Corridor Replacement Schools.