St. Kateri Tekakwitha Academy

Location

Morinville, Alberta

Client

Greater St Albert Roman Catholic School District

Size

3,158m²

Value

$10.1 million

Completion

July 2020

St. Kateri Tekakwitha Academy is a new pre-K to Grade 5 school constructed on a greenfield site in the new Westwinds subdivision in the Town of Morinville. It is the first school the Greater St. Albert Catholic School District has built in the Town since Morinville Community High School opened in 1994. The Academy addresses current and future growth at the elementary level and includes a sports academy focusing on gymnastics, cheer, dance and hockey, with a strong emphasis on academics.

This 3,158m² facility has been designed and constructed to meet LEED® Silver with capacity for 350 students. A unique—and sustainable—feature of the Academy are the solar panels on the exterior and interior of the building where students can use mobile solar panels and software as part of lessons on tracking energy production and use.

The school’s main hall gathering space for students and staff has a wood-patterned floor and ceiling to resemble an Indigenous longhouse, and the front office is brown to reflect St. Kateri’s artisan skills as a basket weaver. The school’s grades are divided into three color-coded pods and classrooms in each pod have garage-door walls that spill into common areas when open.