St. Paul Elementary School’s students and teachers will be in a new facility when the 2012-2013 school year begins.
The building will be a new home to roughly 265 students, grades 3-6. The approximately $7 million, 50,000 sq. ft. facility includes 16 classrooms, a media center, music room, art room, gym with a stage, cafeteria, administrative offices and a playground.
Although the building is not “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) certified, it was built to LEED standards, according to Greg Holliday, energy manager and director of maintenance for Clarendon School District 1.
The facility features glass panels on its roof in various rooms allowing for daylight harvesting. This means that lights can be dimmed in those rooms during daylight hours, allowing for electricity costs to be minimized.
Each of the classrooms has motion sensor lights, so that when there is no movement for an extended period, they will turn themselves off. The HVAC (heating and air) system is energy-efficient, and can be monitored and controlled via computer in a remote location.
Fabric duct socks are used throughout the building for even heating and air distribution. Duct sock are made of special polyester material and provide air to a space more effectively than a conventional duct system, according to Holliday.
The idea for the new building was born in 2004, according to Dr. Rose Wilder, CSD1 superintendent.
“We needed major renovations at the old St. Paul facility,” Wilder said. “After weighing the options, the board decided it would be more cost-effective and in the best interest of our students to construct a new building.”
The original St. Paul Elementary school was located in the St. Paul community just outside of Summerton. The current St. Paul Elementary is located on 1154 Fourth St., in downtown Summerton.
In the fall of 2011, students from Scott’s Branch Middle School (grades 7-8) moved into a separate wing at Scott’s Branch High School, merging the middle and high schools. The new St. Paul Elementary School is adjacent to SBMHS, meaning that all three schools are now on the same campus.
Tanika Bowman, a teacher’s assistant at St. Paul, was helping to unload books at the media center on July 11. Bowman said that she was excited to be moving in to the new building.
“I like everything about it,” she said. “It’s a new beginning for St. Paul.”
An official dedication for St. Paul Elementary School will be held on July 29 at 4 p.m., at the new campus (next to Scott’s Branch-Middle High School).
