St. John the Baptist Elementary Opens New Wing
Aug 22, 2016 12:50PM ● By Julie Slama
When school started, St. John the Baptist Elementary School had expanded as the new wing was completed, opening classrooms, art room, tech center and a multi-purpose room for St. John the Baptist Elementary and Middle School and Juan Diego Catholic School students. — Julie Slama
By Julie Slama | [email protected]
When third-graders returned to St. John the Baptist ELementary School on Aug. 15, they found themselves not only in new classrooms, but in a new wing of the building.
The two-story wing opened this fall, with third-grade classrooms, a technology room and an art room on the top level for the elementary school.
A lower level will have classrooms available for St. John the Baptist Middle School and Juan Diego Catholic High School, all located on the same campus, 300 East 11800 South. A multi-purpose room with wood flooring will be available for all grade levels, Nevah Stevenson, St. John the Baptist Catholic Schools director of advancement, said.
“It’s going to be fabulous,” she said. “The floors are carpeted and tiled and they’re mounting the desks around the tech center. The whole wing is light and airy with windows that give it natural light.”
The 19,000-square-foot wing cost just under $4 million, which was paid for with grants from the Skaggs ALSAM Foundation. The project broke ground in fall 2015 with Brian McCarthy of MJSA Architects and Culp Construction.
A formal ribbon-cutting is expected to be held in early fall. No date has been set as of press deadline.
The tech center, which is double the size of a normal classroom, will have 33 Macintosh computers available on built-in counters.
“Each of our schools has technology as a component. In elementary, we have SmartBoards and iPad carts and now the tech center. In middle school, they have Chromebooks and at Juan Diego, they have ‘bring your own device.’ The middle and high school already have tech rooms,” Stevenson said.
First- through fifth-grade students will rotate through computer and art classes each week.
The art room has expanded storage for art supplies and projects and art tables instead of desks.
“It faces the north side so there will be good lighting and we designed it for more counter space and a sink, which will be ideal for the needs of art room,” she said.
With the new wing, other grade-level classrooms shifted, so on July 23, with the help of the Salt Lake chapter of Gonzaga University Alumni, 300 desks and 14 classrooms were moved that included tables and boxes and other classroom items.
The pre-kindergarten program now is housed in the elementary school building, allowing the Guardian Angel Daycare, where it has resided, more room.
St. John the Baptist Elementary and Middle Schools and Juan Diego Catholic School opened in 1999. Currently, there are about 2,000 daycare through high school students enrolled.
