Jasper’s new high school, to be open for classes in September 2014, will be the first in Alberta to have a green roof.

Once built, the living roof will be located adjacent to both science classrooms, so it can be used as an educational tool for both École Desrochers and the Jasper Junior/Senior High School.

“That would probably be the most unique feature of the building,” said Rob Rabinovitch, the architect designing the new school to be shared by the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division (GYPSD) and Conseil Scolaire Centre-Nord (CSCN).

The design of the new school was approved, in principle, by the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division last month and was put on display at the Jasper Activity Centre during a public information session Jan. 30.

Katie Poirier, who graduated from the high school in 1981 and has a son in Grade 9, was there to see what to expect from the new facility.

“This is a huge improvement,” she said. “I went to school here and the only thing that’s changed in that school is the front entrance, and I graduated in 1981.

“Everything in there is old. They need to have a new school, for sure.”

Poirier said her favourite features are the large gymnasium and the fact that the two schools will be joined together.

Hélène Gendron, principal of École Desrochers, said she’s really pleased with the way the two schools are distinct while also connected.

“I think the architect nailed it,” she said.

On the first floor, the two schools will share the gymnasium, drama room, atrium, library, home economics lab and a few other multipurpose rooms. 

Rabinovitch said the atrium, which is a large meeting space with a tiered grand stair, is one of the neat features that is unique to Jasper’s school.

“That was a request from the committee and it’s been worked into the overall plan. It was something that was a focus of Jasper.”

School trustee Betsy DeClercq said the atrium is an important component of the school because it gives students from both schools a place to meet, socialize and work outside of the classroom.

“I think the gathering space is going to be phenomenal,” she said.

Another feature that’s unique to Jasper’s school is that it will have the infrastructure to add geothermal or solar power when funding is available.

“There are some restrictions on what we can do, just based on the funding of the project, but what we really tried to do on the items that we couldn’t pursue completely, we tried to provide a building that would at least have the infrastructure to allow these things to be added in the future,” said Rabinovitch.

The Jasper Joint School Facility is set to begin construction this summer on the land that is currently the municipal dog park. 

On Tuesday, Rabinovitch met with teachers from the Junior/Senior High School to discuss the “nuts and bolts” of what the classrooms will look like, including where the desks, white boards and electrical outlets will go. He said these types of nitty-gritty details are integral to ensuring the space works for day-to-day teaching. A consultation with École Desrochers staff was held last week.

The information complied in each session will result in some slight modifications, but it won’t alter the overall layout, design or size of the school.

“You won’t see a lot of changes to the building, but just internal tweaking and from there we’ll have our engineers get involved and we’ll be producing more technical drawings that are ultimately used to go to tender for the contractor of the design build,” said Rabinovich.

To see the floor plan, visit www.gypsd.com and click on the “Jasper High School Build” link in the left-hand column of the main page.