Amber Trails school welcomes students

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This article was published 20/01/2015 (4130 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Switching schools midyear has never been easier.

Amber Trails Community School officially opened its doors on Jan. 5, with 445 students starting classes at the birth to Grade 8 school, located at 1575 Templeton Ave. just west of Pipeline Road.

Amber Trails’ students previously attended James Nisbet, Arthur E. Wright, Leila North and Constable Edward Finney schools. Seven Oaks School Division superintendent Brian O’Leary said the trick to a smooth transition was transferring entire classrooms to the new school.

“About 20 classrooms of kids moved with their teachers for the start of January,” O’Leary said. “None of the kids have to get to know new classmates or teachers.”

O’Leary said Grade 8 students from the other schools didn’t make the move to Amber Trails because they will be soon transitioning to high school. Amber Trails Community School will house approximately 600 kindergarten to Grade 8 students, as well as a child care centre for 104 infant and preschool students, in September.

The new $22-million school, built by Bockstael Construction, has reduced overcrowding in the area’s other elementary schools, according to O’Leary.

“Especially at Finney and Wright. Wright is down 200 kids, so those two schools are really accommodating the enrolment they were designed for,” O’Leary said. “Leila is much closer to the enrolment it was designed for. James Nisbet still remains pretty crowded.”

O’Leary said the division has applied for another school east of Pipeline, as it won’t have room to accommodate the growing community at its existing schools. He also noted that construction on École Rivière-Rouge, a new kindergarten to Grade 5 school in Riverbend, should begin in February. That school is projected to open in September of 2016.

O’Leary said Amber Trails Community School is built to a “100 year standard” and to a Gold rating in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). He also pointed to such unique features as radiant floor heating, a main floor entry commons and an excess of windows

“There’s nicer windows and daylight in the school than probably any other school in Manitoba. It’s a modern, bright, airy and comfortable building,” O’Leary said.

Every classroom features large windows looking outside, as well as windows between the classroom and hallway.

“You always see what kids are doing in the classroom, what they’re engaged in. You get the sense of light, openness, which I think is brilliant,” said Amber Trails principal Lorelei Bunkowsky.

During a tour of the new school, Bunkowsky pointed out that the classrooms feature group tables and couches instead of standard school desks, as well as smart projectors that turn white boards into touchscreen devices.

“The spaces that are far homier, less institutionalized. It’s a really welcoming environment instead of something more sterile,” Bunkowsky said.

The new school also features a gym and a dance and fitness studio that Bunkowsky would like to see used by the community at large.

“We really want to see the school used on the evenings and the weekends,” she said.
Amber Trails Community School will host an official opening and public open house on Wed., Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m.