Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 07/05) - After two years of renovations students at Mildred Hall elementary school got their first look at the almost finished product.

The school's front hall was bustling on Tuesday morning as parents and students searched for classroom assignments.

"It's like going to a brand-new school," said Laura Orchard, who was dropping off her daughter Sarah.

The approximately $9 million renovations started exactly two Septembers ago.

During the first year, all classes were moved to the first floor and portables as the back of the school was under construction.

Last year some classes stayed in the portables and others were upstairs while the front portion of the building was torn down.

"It was tough, but it was worth it," said Yasemin Heyck, the school's principal.

It's been great watching students who lived through the renovations come in and gasp at the changes, she said.

Physical environment is important for learning, said Heyck, so the goal was to create a warm feeling for the school. The end product is a building with big windows to let in natural light and lots of wood detail.

One of the most striking features is the open-concept library on the second floor that can be seen from the hall outside of the office on the ground floor.

The renovations aren't quite finished. Final touches on the stucco and paint on the outside of the building have been held up by the weather. Heyck hopes they will be wrapped up soon.

More changes

But even after all these renovations there are plans for even more changes.

Over the next two years, Heyck hopes to make the playground into a community park. This will mean landscaping so half of the yard is grass and getting new playground equipment.

The school will need to fundraise an estimated $300,000 for the project.