Residents can get a peek inside the new Cedar Hill Middle School as it nears completion, expected to welcome students this fall.

At nearly a century old and seismically unsafe, the school students will leave this summer stands next to its new seismically safe replacement B次元官网网址� purpose built to foster greater student engagement, collaboration, and connection to Indigenous education.

The new school will also be the greenest in the Greater Victoria School District (SD61), providing a 90 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions versus a baseline school model. The school will include air-source heat pumps, ground-source heat pumps, a geothermal field, and solar panels. Windows in each classroom provide natural daylight for health benefits and reduction in energy costs and efficient heat pumps will help reduce the schoolB次元官网网址檚 carbon footprint.

Seeing as seismic upgrades were the key reason to replace the school, now seemed a good time to give taxpayers a look at the new learning space, said project manager Gord Wallace, with the Greater Victoria School District.

B次元官网网址淒uring this stage of the project, we can clearly see core braces, which are steel sections filled with concrete, then put on an angle to add strength and hold the second floor from moving on a vertical plane,B次元官网网址� Wallace said in a news release.

The school district released a video showing much of the completed work, including interior window framing, millwork mockups, pipe and exterior insulation and second-level mechanical and electrical rough-ins. The next phase of the project includes drywall, painting, flooring, and elevator installation.

B次元官网网址淭he vision for the new school was a collaborative effort with input from students, families, community, staff, and our Indigenous partners through the Indigenous Education Department,B次元官网网址� said principal Maryanne Trofimuk. B次元官网网址淓lements of the current building will live on in the new building including Indigenous artwork, stained glass, and the main office bench.B次元官网网址�

As construction began in June 2023, students signed their names on a horizontal beam later hoisted into place on the north side of the school under construction not far away.

B次元官网网址淲e are constructing this new school adjacent to the current building which reduces disruption for both the project and the learning of students,B次元官网网址� said Stephen Monahan, SD61 manager of major capital projects. B次元官网网址淚t also encourages the next generation of architects, engineers, and tradespeople, as students have a clear view of the projectB次元官网网址檚 progress from start to finish.B次元官网网址�

The first new middle school in the district since 2004, SD61 says the project is on budget and set to open this fall.