Kaiserslautern American, Oct. 6, 2017

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HAVE YOU READ YOUR KA TODAY?

O , 2017

Volume 41, number 40

New elementary school for the KMC Story and photo by Airman 1st Class Joshua Magbanua 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Kaiserslautern Elementary School’s new campus took place Sept. 29 at Vogelweh. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Europe District, the new facility is designed to be a “21st Century Educational Facility.” The building is expected to include various features such as laboratories, learning studios and music rooms. The corps also stated that the new school building is intended to be a student-centered facility that emphasizes flexibility and adaptability in accordance with different styles of learning. The ceremony began with speeches from several officials, including the principal of Kaiserslautern Elementary School, Penelope Miller-Smith. “This groundbreaking is a physical manifestation of several years of planning and preparation,” said MillerSmith. “Twenty-First Century learning environments address such issues as personal space, resource access, physical comfort, team mobility, flexibility and varying scales of learning spaces and technology.” Miller-Smith added that the school building is adopting the 21st Century

Military and civilian officials participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for a school building Sept. 29 at Vogelweh. The U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity is pushing an initiative to establish more student-centered and energy efficient schools.

Educational Facility initiative and is one of more than 100 in the Department of Defense School system. She described the initiative as a leap from the traditional school system, saying 21st Century schools center on the learner, and the facilities place emphasis on being able to grow and improve over time. “Our new building has spaces that are

designed to support learning that is selfdirecting, independent, interdependent, authentically personalized, active … and student-driven,” Miller-Smith said. The new Kaiserslautern Elementary School facility is expected to be complete by 2020 and is slated to accommodate more than 600 students. In addition to following the DOD’s push for 21st Century Educational Facilities,

the building is also energy-efficient. According to USACE Europe, some of the school’s energy-saving capabilities are increased natural lighting, CO2 monitoring and the ability to save water with special plumbing fixtures and rainwater cisterns. In all, USACE indicated that the facility is expected to save 36 percent more energy than a baseline U.S. high school.

Fire Prevention Week begins Saturday Courtesy of KMC Fire Emergency Service The Kaiserslautern Military Community Fire Emergency Services will kick off Fire Prevention Week with a parade through Ramstein Military Family Housing, Saturday at 10:15 a.m. After the parade, the fire department will host an open house with a variety of festivities from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fire Station 1, Bldg. 2303,

by the Ramstein flightline tower. “There will be free food, live fire and vehicle extrication demonstrations, fire truck displays from KMC FES and surrounding local fire departments, activities for kids, door prizes and much, much, more,” said Brent Blasco, KMC FES assistant chief fire prevention. This year’s Fire Prevention Week runs from 8 October through 14 See PREVENTION, Page 2

Photo by Airman 1st Class Savannah L. Waters

Brig. Gen. Richard G. Moore, Jr., 86th Airlift Wing commander, and leadership from the 86th Civil Engineer Group and 86th Civil Engineer Squadron gather for the signing of the Kaiserslautern Military Community’s Fire Prevention Proclamation Sept. 28 at Ramstein. This year’s Fire Prevention Week theme, “Every second counts, plan two ways out!”, is to encourage people to have more than one safe exit during a fire incident.

FEATURE

NEWS

Be safe! Wear your reflective belt during hours of darkness and inclement weather.

LIFESTYLES

Tip of the Week:

USAG RP welcomes highest enlisted leader, Page 9

Flu vaccine community events scheduled for KMC, Page 12

Siegelbach Zoo hosts Zoo Day Sunday, Page 17


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