When Sloan Elementary School teacher Janine Mickel attended a meeting with VEBH, the architects spearheading the design of the Sloan “elementary campus” project, she was told they “planned to bring the outdoors into the classroom.”

Standing in a freshly renovated wing of the building that is complete and occupied by teachers and students, it’s clear that goal has been achieved: warm earth tones on one section of floor tile are interrupted by a splash of tiles colored bright blue and green. Skylights bring natural light into classrooms outfitted with new carpet and a fresh coat of sky-blue paint on one wall.

The nature theme was inspired by the school’s surroundings, bordered by woodlands as well as Haymaker’s Run, and the design will be consistent across the school’s classrooms.

“This theme will also extend to the (new) intermediate school, so kids will be able to bridge easily from one building to the other,” district communication director Cara Zanella said.

Mickel said her third-graders are “very excited” to be in the new classroom. She has some new toys of her own to explore, including a Promethean interactive screen that eliminates many of the previous smart-board-related challenges teachers faced.

“It’s really nice because it’s like a big tablet,” Mickel said. “I don’t need a laptop to be connected to use it.”

Mickel is also able to split the board’s screen so multiple students can work on it simultaneously.

“I love it,” she said.

At Sloan, construction crews are on to the second phase of the renovation. They have completed that phase’s demolition and are working on what will become an addition to the building.

The project’s second phase is scheduled to be complete by Jan. 6, when students return from winter break, according to the most recent construction update by general contractor Massaro Construction Management Services.

The full project — the renovation of Sloan and the addition of an intermediate elementary school on the Sloan property — is estimated at $54 million. The district awarded $48.62 million in prime contracts over the summer, and in August issued up to $35 million in bonds to fund the bulk of the project.

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