Throwing Open the Doors

CELINA - The public will get a chance to wander through and get a firsthand look at the interior of the newly minted, 115,000-square-foot Celina Elementary School during a pair of open houses, the first of which will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday.

Though it opened its doors to students in pre-kindergarten through third grade just last week, the highly secured school building is mostly off-limits during normal school hours to all but students, teachers and staff - and sometimes parents.

So the open houses set for Sunday and noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 13 represent an opportunity for the community at large to get a glimpse into the freshly constructed, spacious school brimming with state-of-the art technology and modern features; building-wide air-conditioning and efficient, motion-sensor-activated LED lighting; and ample office spaces, conference areas, work rooms, learning labs, color-coded classrooms and storage.

"On behalf of the staff, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Celina community for making this wonderful facility possible," elementary principals said in a joint statement in the district newsletter. "One reassuring aspect of this transition is that the majority of our staff will remain the same, providing a sense of familiarity and comfort for our students and families. As your building administrators, we are dedicated to making this an amazing and memorable year for everyone."

The building, located next to Celina Intermediate School (CIS), houses roughly 1,200 students.

"It's kind of like a big H. We've got a wing, a wing, a connector and a wing and a wing," said school facilities director Phil Metz. "Moving south to north, the elevation changes, so from the existing CIS, we have to meet that at ground level. Over here, the elevation changes by 16 inches. So by incorporating a ramp, we made the elevation change for all of this construction over here."

Metz called it a cost-saving measure.

"Otherwise we would have had to haul gravel in and lift the whole building 16 inches, and then it would become really steep on the north side," he said.

Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms are in the single story southern half and grades 1-3 classrooms in the two-story northern half.

"Kindergarten and first grade are on the bottom floor, second and third grades are on the upper floor," Metz said during a tour of the school.

Classrooms and hallways are distinguished by stripes of color that correspond to each of the different grade levels.

"A lot of input on a lot of the design decisions, we pulled together a lot of the community," Metz said. "We had a visioning committee that was represented by all of our classified staff, all of our instructional staff, all of our aides, all of our administrators, and they talked about, 'What do you want it look like?' Colors and images and paw prints and logos."

Large classrooms accommodate 24-28 students. There are also resource rooms that are about half that size and small rooms a quarter of that size, Metz pointed out. Students in pre-kindergarten through third grade will store their coats and other items in cubbies while students in grades 4-6 will be assigned lockers when they relocate next semester to CIS which is undergoing a full renovation.

"Every classroom has sound enhancement," he said. "A teacher can wear a microphone. So as I walk around the classroom my voice is being projected from the ceiling so I don't fade as I move around from corner to corner."

The learning labs designed for special education feature lighting that can change colors and produce a calming effect, he said. Extended learning labs allow students to collaborate outside classrooms.

There are multiple music rooms and two arts rooms that share storage space. A playground contains a mix of new and repurposed all-inclusive equipment atop a rubber surface.

A library/media center, Metz said, will be made available to community groups after school hours. They'll be given a fob that will grant them limited access to the center for a certain amount of time.

A new gymnasium doubles as a hurricane-grade storm shelter with its own separate ventilation, plumbing, restrooms and power generation system.

Some of the walls are 24-inches thick, and the roof contains 6 inches of reinforced concrete, making it capable of withstanding wind speeds up to 140 mph, Metz said.

"This is all self-sustaining, so it has its own electrical, it has its own air, it has its own water supply," he added.

An administrative side is located on one side of the southern portion of the school and a wellness area complete with a clinic and sick bay on the other side.

Incorporating intensive security measures in the design was a top priority.

Cameras monitored by office staff are set up throughout the buildings and rooms can easily be secured by staff.

"These are just thumb-turn locks. So if we go into a lockdown, you don't even have to have a key. You can secure your classroom just with a turn of a thumb-turn," he said.

Before entering the school proper, visitors are buzzed into a secure vestibule and then buzzed into the building after being authorized by office staff.