“Breathtaking!” “Blown-away!” “I was rendered speechless.” Some were even moved to tears.
These are some of the many reactions of UTS students and staff as they crossed the threshold of our renewed school for the first time at the beginning of April and looked around in wonder and amazement at our stunning new home.
M4 (Grade 10) Nicole says, “I’m really excited because the science labs are so much bigger than we’re used to. There’s lots of natural light. It’s really bright!”
“I really like how the Fleck Atrium is designed to be so open and a space for everyone,” said UTS Co-Captain Caleb. “One of the things that we missed at our temporary school at 30 Humbert was being able to gather and collect as a group and there are many spaces for that in this new building.”
“I am blown away by the quality of the facilities,” said S6 (Grade 12) Layla, a Prefect for Lewis House. “It’s a huge upgrade from what we had before and we are so happy to be back now and spend time with our friends here before graduation.”
Students are taking ownership of the spaces and it is a delight to see! At lunch, the Learning Stairs in the Fleck Atrium are lined with students and in common areas they can be seen working on laptops and lounging on bean bag chairs. Yesterday the resounding boom of Taiko drumming filled the Fleck Atrium for the first time during a noon-hour concert.
The Ewens Chemistry Lab
While we have partial occupancy, work to finish our new school is ongoing. Books are being unpacked in the new Library and it opens next week! The 700 seats for the Withrow Auditorium have arrived and will be installed in mid-May. We will purchase three new pianos for the school, including a baby grand, as well as new percussion instruments. Work to finish spaces outside the school is also ongoing.
Our new Library
On April 22, the McIntyre Gymnasium welcomed students for the first time and gym classes played basketball, handball, soccer and more. On May 2, it will close for about a week to install our new bleachers and a curtain to divide the double gym. “Just to see games being played in the gymnasium and to hear the UTS community come together and cheer on their sports teams with that pure UTS spirit is so exciting,” said Health and Physical Education Teacher Virginia Ki.
At the staff ribbon cutting on April 4, UTS Board Chair Jim Fleck C.C. ’49, P ’72 and Principal Rosemary Evans thanked our community for their incredible support of the Building the Future campaign, as well as our Project Steering Committee, our architect Don Schmitt C.M. ’70 and his firm, Diamond Schmitt Architects, Eastern Construction and JLL Project Management, and each other, for their remarkable efforts in bringing this day to pass.
Our new home is better than we ever imagined. There’s a buzz in the halls bigger than any September, an extra-bright note in students’ voices, and a bounce in their steps. The future has arrived, thanks to the amazing generosity of our community, and we are making the most of it!
