Play and learn at the new St. Kateri Tekakwitha Academy

BY CINDY CHAN

Morinville’s newest Catholic school has officially opened its doors to accommodate a growing population. St. Kateri Tekakwitha Academy is a K-6 Catholic elementary school with a capacity of 350 students. According to John Richards, project manager at JEN COL Construction, “They were really happy and overjoyed when we turned the school over to them.” “Morinville is a growing bedroom community to Edmonton,” Anneliese Fris, principal at Group2 Architecture Interior Design Ltd. says. “The school is located on the south side of Morinville in an area that is experiencing significant residential growth. The school is providing much needed student spaces to serve this growing population and provide an environment that supports current 21st-century learning principles.” The Government of Alberta approved and funded the new St. Kateri school and construction began in April 2019. Richards says the project started out with foundations, which was concrete pile with grade beam structural steel and a masonry structural gym. “The gym was where we focused on the actual superstructure; the masonry walls for the gym went up first,” Richards explains. “The structural steel took place in three phases that worked its way around and tying into the gym.” Richards says the construction was a smooth process, aside from the fact that the summer of 2019 had been one of the wettest summers they’ve experienced in years. Between June to August, they had tracked about 56 days of rain. However, they were able to work through it with their team and partnership with the consultants and Government of Alberta. From the structural steel, they put up steel stud exterior walls and the building envelope to make the structure air- and water-tight. “Once the slabs were poured, the mechanical and electrical equipment were flown in. The mechanical room is the lifeline of the building,” Richards says. Drywall came after the interior construction, as well as remainder of the interior finishes. “There are a few specialty items, like overhead doors for the classrooms, and large operable partitions that allow school staff to separate and open the spaces up or divide the spaces as necessary for the school’s operation,” Richards adds. The 3,159-square-metre school is a one-story, 21st–century learning facility. Fris says the gymnasium is at the centre of the school, with two wings on either side. The south wing includes two pods of classrooms, while the north wing has a classroom pod and administration suite. The classroom pods contain grade divisions; the northwest pod

houses kindergarten students, the southwest pod houses Grades 1 to 3 students and the southeast pod houses Grades 4 to 6 students. There are 10 classrooms in total, as well as a science room, three ancillary classrooms, a learning commons, a music room and a servery. Each teaching pod has its own non-gender-specific washrooms, drinking fountain, bottle filler and art sink. The classrooms have large oversized windows and glass overhead doors that allow natural light to enter most spaces and offer flexibility for teaching and learning. “When entering the school, you are greeted with high ceilings with large laminated wood beams and clerestory glass along the entire corridor,” Ron Gamache, facilities manager for Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools, says. “The natural light floods into this area and also into the learning commons and gathering space,” Cheryl LaBuick, school principal, adds. “Each classroom is served by a teacher collaborative space,” Fris says. “Collaborative spaces contain work stations and storage areas that replace a single teacher lounge traditionally located in the administration area. These spaces are fully glazed areas, providing oversight of breakout spaces and visual connection to teacher activities.” The learning commons and gathering space is adjacent to the gymnasium and visually connected via a large glazed wall on the end of the gym. Administration is located next to the main entrance. The school project has also been submitted for LEED Silver certification. Along with an energy-efficient heating system, the school is equipped with a solar system that has 375 solar panels and eight inverters, as well as an educational component that allows students to monitor live production of power and energy savings in real time. Subcontractors that worked on the project include Adler Firestopping Ltd., Alberta Concrete Pumping Ltd., Allmar Inc., Automatic Controls (Edmonton) Ltd., Behrends Bronze Inc., Concrete Inc., CP Distributors Ltd., Creative Door Services Ltd., Donalco Western Inc., Empire Drywall Ltd., Fenceline Rentals Ltd., Fortis Alberta Inc., Gustafson Construction 1993 Ltd., InLine Masonry Inc., Kantrax Contractors Ltd., Kichton Contracting Ltd., Lafarge Canada Inc., Liquid Diamond Products Ltd., Longbow Sales Inc., Madsen’s Custom Cabinets (1983) Ltd., Midwest Caissons (2014) Inc., Naran Enterprises Ltd., Priority Mechanical Ltd., Royal Stewart Ltd., Shanahan’s Limited Partnership, Telus, United Rentals of Canada Inc. c/o V7406, Vadel Inc., Western Archrib (Div. of 316291 Alberta Ltd.), Williams Engineering Canada Inc., Rucon Contracting Ltd., Accent Window Care Inc., Acius Engineering Ltd., Aluminum & Glass Worx Ltd., Bryers Contracting Ltd., Duraguard Fence Ltd., Harris Steel Services Limited, Kinsey Enterprises Inc. o/a CDN Power Pac, Maglin Site Furniture Inc., Nana Geomatics Inc., Northern Weldarc Ltd., Pereira & Moniz Landscape Contractors Inc., Sampson Construction Ltd., Strathcona Excavating Inc., The Door Professor Ltd., Tower Construction Ltd., Vicwest Inc., Wild Rose Sports Flooring Ltd., Burke Group of Companies Ltd., Christenen & McLean Roofing Co. Ltd., Apollo Interior Exteriors Ltd., Western Noise Control (2015) Ltd., Peak Clean Ltd., Catalina Restrepo Botero o/a INS Home & Building Services and Landrex Inc. n

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