Our 3rd grader!

Today is EJ's first day of 3rd grade! He started in a brand new, $20 million "green" school with all the modern technologies. You can see some of them in my photos. I like the presentation screens where the teacher can upload information on a laptop and present it to the class. I also heard that the kindergarteners have buzzers at their desks. Instead of raising their hands, they push the buzzer, which will track their participation over the course of the school year. Do I agree with that? Not necessarily, but it's kind of cool! These are some interesting facts about this school, per the local newspaper:

• As designed, the school will recycle rainwater, storing it is huge cisterns with a maximum capacity of 15,000 gallons combined. “The rainwater will be used in the bathrooms to flush toilets,” said Clements. The design has also incorporated celestial lighting to reduce power consumption for lighting, but what shows the most promise of the incorporated use of geothermal heating.
• The school also incorporates the latest technology for security to keep students safer than at any time before. “Each door will have a lock that is operated by magnetic encoded strip built into each SMCPS employee ID badge,” said Martirano. The new building also will be better for overall student wellness. Gross explained that every aspect of the school construction, from paint to adhesives to carpets was chosen for their low off gas emissions. “Everything is designed with low volatile organic compound emissions, which will help keep students and staff healthier,” said Gross.
• The environment and responsible energy-use are central themes for the design of the school, which will feature vegetation on the roofs, waterless urinals, natural lighting, geothermal energy, building materials made from recycled goods and rainwater collection tanks to supply water for toilets.

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