Students from George Vanier Public School and Jessie Hamilton Public School will come together to form the student body of a new school to be located on Sixth Avenue in Lively.
The school, scheduled to open in the fall of 2009, will offer English and French Immersion programs for students in JK to Grade 6.
Like Valley View Public School, the new school in Sudbury West will be a model for sustainable development.
See the Valley View movie, hear what the students think!
What makes a green school?
The new Valley View Public School incorporates national Go Green environmental certification principles - industry ‘best practices’ for resource consumption, waste management, building materials, the interior environment and occupant awareness. Good acoustics, lighting, thermal comfort and air quality in the 65,000 square foot facility is reducing operating expenses, protecting the natural environment and improving the health and productivity of students and staff, while lowering energy consumption.
The Architect and Sustainable Consultant designed the school with a north/south orientation, maximizing windows on the north and south faces of the building. Sun screening devices and glass are used to optimize the amount of natural light in the school, obtain solar heat gain in the winter and avoid undesirable solar heat gain in the summer.
This approach has many benefits. It provides a learning environment lit with natural light, reduces the need for artificial lighting, takes advantage of passive solar heating during the winter months and shades the hot sun of the summer. When rooms are not in use, occupancy sensors integrated with the artificial lighting systems automatically shut lights off. This type of lighting creates significant energy savings.
The use of geothermal energy systems in the new school provides four units of energy from the ground for every unit of energy purchased from conventional sources. This efficiency is unequalled by other conventional heating and cooling systems. Geothermal systems heat and cool the school by tapping into the relatively constant temperature of the earth below the frost line, at significant energy savings.
The building has radiant floor heating. Cooled/tempered air is delivered to classrooms using displacement ventilation concepts. Displacement ventilation provides fresh and tempered (cool) air to classrooms at floor level. Displacement ventilation systems typically use 100 per cent outdoor air. As a result, air pollutants generated within the building are removed at the source and are not re-circulated. The displacement ventilation system improves the indoor environment. The water reuse system in the school conserves water use and demonstrates sustainability to students. A wetland biofilter remediates sanitary waste from waterless urinals and low volume flush toilets, diverting approximately 70 per cent of the remediated water to re-circulate in toilets throughout the school.
Washroom fixtures use minimal water. The wetland biofilter, a series of filters and planting beds, illustrate natural process remediating methodologies. And, conventional field beds on the site are being used to dispose of excess greywater. The school is not connected to the municipal sanitary system. The water reuse system saves water and teaches students the value of water conservation.
A number of additional sustainable features have been incorporated into the building, including the use of building products with recycled content. The school has retroplated concrete floors with recycled glass chips collected by the students. Wood beams from the old Valley View Public School are being reused as interior benches and architectural accent features.
The school’s waste management program documents diversion of waste products from the construction to recycling facilities in the City of Greater Sudbury. The building incorporates Smart IT systems, making use of state-of-the-art technology such as Smart Boards.
This website developed and supported by Dearness Environmental Society www.dearness.ca
