St. Cecilia Catholic School

St. Cecilia Catholic School is part of a new subdivision community, known as Belterra Estates / Treetops, located on the east side of Alliston, Ontario.

In addition to serving this community, the school will play a key role in relieving over population at three nearby catholic elementary schools. This new school will support students, families, and the community with Catholic Education for grades JK through 8 and have a capacity of 470 students. The school also includes a 49 space Childcare Facility (one Infant Room, one Toddler Room, and one Preschool Room).

The mandate for the new St. Cecilia Catholic School was to provide a school layout based upon programmatic layout and design standards for recent Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (SMCDSB) new build projects. However, faced with cost escalation challenges in the marketplace, this new design underwent extensive value engineering to reduce costs and come in on budget without sacrificing academic opportunity and construction quality. The re-design incorporates the following principles into the facility:

• Clear plan organization
• Efficient space and circulation planning
• Barrier free design for accessibility throughout
• Chapel space as a primary focal point of the design integrated into the Learning Commons space
• Integrated Childcare Facility
• Low maintenance, quality materials used throughout
• 3 Mechanical HVAC options prepared for Cost Estimate comparison

The main entrance, lobby and gathering area are located near the midpoint of the main corridor intersections. This is the focus of the school. This is where there will be a direct connection to the Chapel, Learning Commons, School Office and Gymnasium. This is envisioned as the heart of the school with the double height entry space creating a clear identity for the building and its users.