New innovative learning spaces at Okanagan Mission Secondary school

KELOWNA – With the final phase of the $15-million Okanagan Mission Secondary school expansion now complete, students are kicking-off the new school year in an environmentally friendly and updated school.

MLA for Kelowna-Mission, Steve Thomson was joined by Central Okanagan school district officials and staff, teachers, parents and students at the school to celebrate the official completion of the project and tour the expansion on behalf of Education Minister Mike Bernier.

Completed in 2014, the first phase of the project added a new wing with 11 classrooms and a full-size gym, creating 300 new student spaces to increase the school's capacity to 1,050. The new wing also features open learning spaces to support B.C.'s new curriculum, including a central space where students can work collaboratively on projects.

The first phase also brought a new performance space to the school, complete with a stage lighting system that is safe for the school's many theatre students to operate. As part of an agreement between the Central Okanagan school district and the City of Kelowna, the school's theatre space, dance studio, gym and fitness centre are being used for community recreational programs outside of school hours.

The project was built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold standards. The latest geo-thermal technology is used to heat and cool the new wing, and it is equipped with LED lighting and a networked building automation system. All of these features are reducing the school's energy use and saving money.

The second phase of the project included a renovating the administrative offices and counselling area. The third and final phase, completed this summer, put the finishing touches on the school, updated the foyer and added a striking new front entrance to the school.

This project moved students out of the school's nine portable annex into classrooms. The portable annex is now being used to temporarily house grade 7 students as a way to alleviate local elementary school enrolment pressures.

Government is able to make capital investments like the Okanagan Mission Secondary school expansion project thanks to the Province's fiscal discipline and strong economy.