New Brighouse opens for students
The downpour didn't dampen the excitement as parents and grandparents escorted students into the brand new $16.4 million Samuel Brighouse elementary school which opened for the first time Monday morning.
"Wow," said one wide-eyed youngster. "Look at that," said another, looking up. "This is so awesome."
Even the new school's distinctive odour didn't go unnoticed: "What's that smell?" one young student said.
B.C. Education minister George Abbott raved about the new school's design and energy efficiency.
With in-floor heating, a geo-exchange energy source, solar hot-water heating, triple-glazed windows and green roofs with stormwater ponds, the designers of the new facility certainly had Mother Nature in mind.
But students are most likely to get excited by an exciting new teaching tool that brings the school firmly into the 21st century.
Each of the school's 17 classrooms is equipped with a high-tech SMART board, which looks like a whiteboard with a projector near the top.
Think of it as a giant iPad, that enables students to learn interactively on the massive screen at the front of the class, using graphics and the interactive screen that allows students to pinch, swipe and write their way to better learning.
The new technology was a nearly $140,000 investment that's expected to improve the education experience for students and teachers.
"The installation of SMART products is a very progressive move for the Richmond school district and the first installation of its kind in the district," according to Alberta-based SMART public relations manager Marina Geronazzo.
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