New Addition Nearing Completion At Sydenham HS

Nov 27, 2013

Big changes are underway at Sydenham High School as the construction of the brand-new 14,000 sq.ft. state of the art learning facility is nearing completion.

Located on the west side of the school with frontage on Rutledge Road and Mill Street, the addition includes a new 5000 sq. ft. gym that has a 26 ft. ceiling and is equipped with wheelchair-accessible men's and women's change rooms, and a bright south-facing computer lab lined with newly milled maple/ walnut counter tops that will house 30 work stations. The addition also includes a wheelchair-accessible drama facility complete with a mini theatre with 90 retractable seats, an attached controls room, plus ample change rooms and a storage room for props.

The new space also houses the school's “Foods Program” facility which includes a traditional classroom to which is attached a new state of the art industrial kitchen in a bright room with floor to ceiling south-facing windows. The kitchen boasts ample stainless steel counter tops and a array of shiny new stainless steel appliances, numerous gas stoves, and convection ovens plus a large walk-in fridge and two free-standing freezers.

I toured the new facility with Vice-Principal Brent Pickering as the builders continued their work polishing the new terrazzo floors. He said that the project has actually been in the works for six years. Construction began 14 months ago and is slated to be finished before the second semester starts in February.

The project was made possible with provincial funding through the capital expenditures budgets and cost over $3 million. Initially the addition was to include just four new classrooms but thanks to the input of SHS teachers Jeff Sanderson and Leslie Lawlor, who worked closely with the Limestone District School Board's Director of Education, Brenda Hunter, the project was reconfigured with the goal of creating a space that would best fit the needs of the students at Sydenham.

A tour of the school's current facilities, which the new facility will be replacing, demonstrates why both students and staff at the school are excited. The drama facility is currently located in an old storage room, a small black 600 sq. ft. space that can barely contain the class that I saw working there. Similarly, the Foods Program facility is presently housed in a cramped old science lab, making instruction and practical work hands on kitchen work difficult at the best of times.

The project was designed by Armando Sardinha of H.M. Sardinha Architect Inc of Kingston and is being constructed by Cupido Construction of Kingston.

Pickering says that the new space will offer students a top-notch learning facility and will also give members of the community at large a new space where they can carry out their own events.

“The new drama space and the theatre in particular will be a great asset to various groups and organizations in the community. The new foods program space will give students a real leg up when they go looking for jobs in the hospitality industry since they will be learning on equipment used in the industry.”

The new addition will also mean that two of the school's three portables will be able to be used for much needed storage space.

Also in the works are plans for two new electronic signs, which will let the community know of school events and which will also promote local community events.

Tabitha Kirby, who is the lead foods program teacher at the school, said she is looking forward to moving into the new facility. “I am thrilled that the students will have the opportunity to work in an industrial kitchen that reflects real life situations, which will really help their employability. The new space also means that we can do larger caterings than those we are doing right now.”

Right now the students prepare the hot lunches at Loughborough Public School and cater SHS's end of year graduation.

Pickering said that staff who have had a chance to tour the new addition come out with the same standard response: “It is an amazing space and will be a great new learning facility for the students and a place for the community to take advantage of as well.”