Welcome to Wellington!

Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, August 01, 2011

Gallery (click any photo to view the gallery)
FCPS broke ground in May 2010 on Wellington Elementary, which opens this month.

FCPS broke ground in May 2010 on Wellington Elementary, which opens this month.

FCPS broke ground in May 2010 on Wellington Elementary, which opens this month.Teachers and staff greeted visitors during a 12-hour open house Aug. 1.Families and excited youngsters toured the new school.At resource tables, families learned more about the PTA, transportation options and meal plans.Parents took the opportunity to fill out some required paperwork before orientation night.Students checked in with staff set up near the cafeteria.Kids waited eagerly for the chance to look around and find their new classrooms.Classroom lists were posted in the front hallway.There's still a bit of unpacking to do before the first day of school. (This view is from the cafeteria looking through the stage into the gym, where bleachers are folded up along the far wall.)Among Wellington's "green" features is the water conservation system. The majority of rainwater runoff from the roof and parking lot will be captured, cycled into a huge underground tank and reused in the school’s toilets. Rock walls give Wellington "a lodge feel," according to Principal Meribeth Gaines. Displayed in the foyer are seven canvas panels citing key 21st-century skills such as stewardship and adaptability.

The newest elementary in Fayette County Public Schools threw open its doors Monday for “Welcome to Wellington Day.” During the 12-hour open house, Principal Meribeth Gaines greeted a stream of visitors eager to tour the school and spotlighted a few of the things that make Wellington special.

“It’s a good fit with everything the building is about – a new school, new technology, kids coming in – exploration is a big piece,” she said in explaining the mascot, Explorers.

The first indication of that theme is the giant compass on the foyer floor. Throughout the school, the hallways tie in to the compass: blue for north, yellow for south, green for east, red for west.

The muted primary colors, by the way, come from the Shakertown palette. In contrast are the soaring rock walls accenting the interior.

“The stone is natural to Kentucky,” Gaines noted. “It’s kind of a lodge feel.”

She’s also proud of Wellington’s “green” features, including permeable pavers, rain gardens and solar panels.

“The whole building is situated to access the most natural lighting,” Gaines said, maximizing the morning and afternoon sun.

For instance, classrooms on the front of the building have flat ceilings and solar tube lighting; rooms on the back have sloped ceilings, an extra row of windows and reflective light shelves.

Wellington is designed to be the most energy efficient and sustainable school in the district. Some aspects such as automatic electric lighting controls and color-coded exposed pipes are visible to students, providing opportunities for interactive instruction.

“Those prominent sustainable features are what we’ll teach kids first,” Gaines said. Then when guests visit, students will be able to explain their building.

Wellington also has designated recycling areas, native landscaping and an outdoor classroom adjacent to its “Nature Studies” lab. The latter will focus not only on science but also the other STEM areas of technology, engineering and math.

Another example of environmentally friendly innovations is the water conservation system. The majority of rainwater runoff from the roof and parking lot will be captured, cycled into a huge underground tank and reused in the school’s toilets.

In the main hallway near the front door, a giant green screen system will enable students to track the water and energy usage in each quadrant of the school. Teachers, with their classrooms hooked into the system, can also use the data for real-life conservation lessons.

“It’s all state of the art and top of the line,” parent Heather Gannon exclaimed as she looked around with her third-grader, Maggie.

Families also found out class assignments, set up meal accounts in the cafeteria and signed up for transportation options. The PTA had set up a resource table, as did Parks and Recreation for its Extended School Programs (ESP). In addition, each student received a Wellington T-shirt to wear on the first day of school, Aug. 11.

Parents appreciated the chance to complete forms and paperwork at the open house; on orientation night, the focus then can be on the people.

“We want them to be able to come in and meet their child’s teacher and visit their classroom in a more relaxed atmosphere,” Gaines said.

Orientation nights

Call your school for details.