The future looks bright for the four students from Eastview Middle School who won an international competition for designing a school of the future. The students just returned from Pittsburgh as winners of the Council for Educational Facility Planners’ International – Award of Excellence for their innovative Kindergarten to Grade 8 school.

The students came out as number one in the competition that included 2,900 contestants representing approximately 700 teams from around the world. Through a series of regional competitions, the final three included the Eastview team as well as students from the United Kingdom and Dayton, Ohio who competed for the coveted award.

Students Alison Harman, Aidan Schafer, Connor McCallister, and Cole Webber learned a great deal throughout the process with some now considering future careers in architecture or engineering.

The team chose the name Mamawayawin School which is Cree for ‘living in a community.’ The school would be located in Rotary Recreation Park of Red Deer and would incorporate the proposed aquatics centre, a science park as well as the art gallery and museum.

As finalists, the students received an all-expense paid trip to Pittsburgh to present their project to a panel of 16 judges who also asked detailed questions on the building components and design rationale during an hour long presentation. The panel was impressed with the innovative design that supports the latest trends in education and incorporates community facilities. The winning team received $1,500 as well as an Award of Excellence certificate from the Council.

Teacher Advisor Kelly Aleman worked closely with students on features of the school that support quality teaching and learning. Craig Webber from Group2 Architecture Interior Design supported the team on essential design elements for the project.

Eastview Middle School principal Dean Pasiuk is proud to have the international winning team from the school. “These are great students who worked incredibly hard and demonstrated outstanding skills in their presentations. They are most deserving of this award.”

– Fawcett