BRADENTON -- Sunshine Middle School lets the light shine through and offers an even better future for students, teachers and the environment.
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| Sunshine Middle School at St. Stephen's Episcopal School is a state certified LEED building. |
It's week two in the new state-of-the-art and state certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ”green“ school for middle school students at St. Stephen's Episcopal School on the corner of Manatee Avenue West and 39th Street West.
Step up in front of the new architecturally designed structure in awe, but inside its doors one of the first noticeable traits of this ”green“ building is the absence of toxic fumes from a typical ”new building“ smell.
Standing in front of the large entrance-way, where seventh- and eighth-graders could head up the stairs on both sides to second-level classrooms, or make way for a little science discussion in the new science labs on the first floor, there is a sense of minimalism and openness.
The Art Lab is also on the first floor, across the hall from new middle school administration offices.
But also in the entrance-way is an entire wall with copies of letters from signers of the Declaration of Independence, and six seventh-graders are all waiting in front to provide a ”green“ tour of their new school building.
Toby Howell, 12, said he is most excited about the Wall of History and those letters from the signers.
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| Ben Kalish, from left, Robert Donkelberger, Toby Howell, Valerie Arias, Faith Rodriguez, Catherine Williams and Dave Samler stand in front of the Wall of History at their new "green" school. |
”These are letters from the original signers, they are copies donated by Wayne C. Rickert,“ he said. ”It's just a nice backdrop and educational view into the school.“
Rickert is a supporter of the school, and he is a parent of grown children who graduated from the school.
It sure is an inspiring way to start the day for students heading to their classrooms and for a school striving to mold their students into future exemplary statesmen.
The students walk past the boys' and girls' bathrooms and giggle a bit while Keith Donkelberger, 13, tells the group the bathrooms are specially designed to save water and electricity.
”They have special 'flushers' that are environmentally friendly,“ he said confidently, then opens the door to the boys' bathroom ever so slightly for everyone to look inside and see the lights turn on. ”The lights are always off, that's in all the rooms, if somebody leaves the bathroom they tend not to flip the switch.“
Motion detectors are set up throughout the building in bathrooms, labs, offices and classrooms. They trigger lights on and off when when people enter or leave a room.
Athletic director Dave Samler was on the tour with the students.
He's also the communications coordinator and has worked there for 31 years. He said he is astonished at the school's growth over the years.
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| On the second floor of the "green" school, Rodriguez stands below an acoustics system built in the ceilings as a part of the LEED certifification. |
”Last Tuesday morning we had a ribbon cutting ceremony (for the new school) on the students' first day back to school since Christmas break,“ he said. ”I think it's an amazing thing to see how far this school has come over these years and what we've built with so many more kids creating opportunity for everyone.“
Samler said the middle school students have been really well educated throughout the whole ”green“ school construction of the building, and he said the students are familiar with what it means to be at a LEED-certified school.
”They have given tours for parents, alumni and were positioned around the school during the tours to answer questions,“ he said.
Faith Rodriguez, 12, continues the tour up the stairs to the second level and points to the ceiling in the the hallway. Classes are all in session, but the students can't hear the tour taking place in the hallway.
”We have tiles that bounce back sound, so that it doesn't go into the other rooms because sound travels,“ she said. ”That way you can have two classes having class at once and you won't hear the other class.“
The group turns the corner to a wall and Ben Kalish steps up to the wall and says, ”This is our LEED Wall. It really showcases what really is green in our school.“
The LEED Wall is a green garden scene with a plasma screen showing all the various phases of the school building over the past year and what qualifies it as a sustainable and water-efficient site.
LEED rating system addresses classroom acoustics, daylight and views, mold prevention, and environmental site assessment., and it has a point system starting with a certified rating of up to 36 points and ending in a platinum rating for a maximum of 79 points.
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| Arias can't wait to get into the computer lab to work on English papers and to look at fine art on the new Macintosh computers donated by the Moore family. |
He said their LEED-certified middle school is on a point system and that their school hopes to reach a gold standard. St. Stephen's used its own land to build the school instead of going out and purchasing new space, he added
The tour continued to the computer labs, where there were 20 large-screen Macintosh computers that had been donated by Stuart and Elizabeth Moore, whose children Meredith, Grace, Peter and Nick attend St. Stephen's.
”This is quite the upgrade from our other computer lab,“ said Valerie Arias, 12. ”We have more natural light in the rooms now, too.“
She said she can't wait to get in the lab to write an English paper or look at art on the plasma screens.
”We are really going to use this a lot,“ she said.
Back down the stairs, the six students head into the art lab – a large studio perfect for students of all ages to imagine and create in a ”green“ environment.
”This room has the same materials as the other rooms with the automatic light and the sunlight windows,“ said Catherine Williams, 12.
She's noticed that the art materials don't have as much odor as other materials, as the students use Crayola markers and toxin-free paint.
For a school that broke ground on Earth Day last year, experiencing the ”green“ automated lights, low-flow faucets, low volume irrigation sprinklers and toxic-free paint is thrilling.
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All six students who provided the "green" tour through Sunshine Middle School understand what it means to be a LEED school and what it means to be "green." |
Middle school director Ann Wolcott helped 120 seventh- and eighth-grade students transition from Christ Episcopal Church, where classes were held for 40 years, to the new ”green“ school.
”It was exciting, it was easy and we knew we were going into a space that is beautiful and so spacious,“ she said, standing at the front entrance where natural light was abundant. ”There wasn't a lot of space in the church building. It has met every expectation it could have met.“
She said the teachers did an excellent job teaching in the old building and the students did an excellent job learning in the old building, but both will excel in the new building because it is conducive to learning.
The six students prepare to head back to their classrooms, and Ben leaves everyone with a final thought.
”It's very exciting,“ he said. ”If we were gold-certified, we would be the only gold-certified school in Tampa Bay and Sarasota County. It feels incredible to be a part of such an amazing project.“
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