Three Oaks High School reopens after multi-million dollar renovation

Three Oaks High School in Summerside reopened Wednesday after more than two years of renovations.

Construction on the 160,000 square foot school had been underway since the summer of2016 and cost $23 million.

The province said this is the first major upgrade of the school since it opened in 1976 to replace Summerside High School.

Jeff Clow, the principal of Three Oaks High School, said it was an exciting day.

"We have a lot more space that we can access, a lot more collaboration among classes on similar projects, so response from staff has been wonderful."

Bright, open space

He said the brightness and openness of the space is getting positivefeedbackfromstudents.

"In the end, we have a state of the art facility that will last for years in the Summerside community and will be accessed for years by many in the community, not only students but other groups that are in the school."

During the construction phase,parents of students raised concerns over air quality multiple times. Students still went to classes throughoutthe renovations and many parents said their kids reported symptoms such as breathing problems, nausea and headaches they believed were caused by the construction.

P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Office concluded there wereno significant health risks to students during the work after anindependent review was conducted because of concerns from parents and the release of air quality tests from March of 2017.

Lots of new features

Renovations includenew features such as science labs, a blackbox theatre, an outdoor running track and independent study areas.

Tyler Richardson, themanager of building design and construction with the province, said the curriculum spaces are all improved.

"The library is exquisite with new mill work and lighting arrangement and layout. Sothere's numerous areas we're pleased about, the labs are unbelievable, biology and chemistry and physics labs are all tremendousinclusive education spaces as well."

Thirty oneclassrooms and hallways were expandedand windows were added to improve ventilation and bring in more natural light.

The province said the school is heated by biomassand isthe first Island school to use propane as a back-up rather than oil.

More than 70 energy-efficient windows were installed, as well as LED lighting and roofing with high insulation values to make the structure energy efficient.

Richardson said he hopes students are ecstatic when they walk into thebrand new space.

"We've created these wonderful gathering areas too with the high stools in the corridors ...even windows in the corridors and benches where the kids can gather and discuss things between classes, we just hope they appreciate the effort."

The school serves 700 students in Summerside and the surrounding communities.

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