MEDIA ADVISORY
Holmes Elementary School Students, Teachers, and Neighbors to Celebrate the Start of Construction on Major Campus Renovations and New Joint-Use Field
Friday, May 24, 2024
WHAT:
Holmes Elementary School students, teachers, and neighbors will join San Diego Unified and City of San Diego leaders in celebrating the start of major campus renovations.
WHEN:
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
9:30 - 10:15 a.m.
WHERE:
Holmes Elementary School
4902 Mt Ararat Dr.
San Diego, CA 92111
*See the event location map with the media staging area below.
VISUALS:
9:30 - 9:38 a.m. - “I Believe Chant,” Pledge of Allegiance, “No Place for Hate” Commitment, School Pledge, and Mindfulness Moment
9:38 - 9:43 a.m. - Holmes ES Students perform Bruno Mars's “Count on Me” & The Little Mermaid’s “Under the Sea”
9:43 - 9:55 a.m. - Speakers
9:55 - 10:05 a.m. - Shovels to the Dirt, Photo Opps.
10:05 -10:15 a.m. - Media 1-1s
Drone video of the construction, a 3D flythrough video, renderings, and a construction postcard can be found here.
SPEAKERS:
Todd Gloria, Mayor, City of San Diego
Shana Hazan, Board of Education President, San Diego Unified
Cody Petterson, Board of Education Vice President, San Diego Unified
Jonathan Saipe, Principal, Holmes Elementary School
Violet Kelly, 5th Grade Student & Student Council President, Holmes Elementary School
Addy Daudet, Clairemont High School Student & Holmes Elementary School Alumni
BACKGROUND:
A two-time California Distinguished School along Mt. Ararat Drive in Clairemont, Holmes Elementary immerses students in various special programs, including financial literacy, SAGE garden and cooking classes, choral and instrumental music, and visual and performing arts.
Serving the community for 62 years and counting, Holmes Elementary also has one of the strongest Parent Teacher Associations in the San Diego Unified School District, which funds its award-winning art program, mileage club, and choral music teacher. With help from the community, the PTA has also supplied Holmes with gardens, a rock wall, a school mural, greenhouses, and a fitness obstacle course. In 2023, it was named the number-one PTA in the district.
With the help of local voter-approved bond funds, San Diego Unified is now beginning construction at Holmes Elementary, bringing a new upper-grade classroom facility, a new student services facility, a new Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) classroom building, two kindergarten classrooms, a grass playfield, and campus-wide improvements.
The new student services facility will serve as the school's main campus entryway, including a lobby, and student support spaces.
The new classroom buildings will include modern technology and collaborative workspaces. Existing upper-grade and kindergarten classrooms will be modernized to include new paint, flooring, finishes, and whiteboards.
The existing decomposed granite field will be replaced by a new joint-use grass playfield that will feature a walking and running track, a drinking fountain, new trees, fencing, and gates to separate the joint-use field from the main campus. As part of the Play All Day partnership with the City of San Diego, the joint-use field will be accessible to the community after school hours and during school breaks.
Additional improvements include the modernization of three classroom buildings, expansion of the food services kitchen, conversion of the existing student services facility into an educational space, removal of all portable classrooms, creation of a new parking lot with a student drop-off and pick-up area, and enhancements to safety, security, and exterior hard court areas.
Construction on the project is estimated to be completed in late 2026.
PARKING:
Media can enter the construction trailer parking lot along Mt. Brundage Avenue. Street parking is also available.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jamie Ries, Information Services Specialist, San Diego Unified, (619) 855-9283, jries@sandi.net.
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