|
School unveils new building
Oct 24, 2008 (San Gabriel Valley Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Torch Middle School in La Puente unveiled its new multipurpose building on Oct. 15 to students, parents, staff, and many community members.
District and school officials welcomed attendees with a presentation and then held student-led tours of the state-of-the-art building.
The middle school's band, choir and the Bassett High School Cheerleaders provided entertainment throughout the night.
"It was a great turnout," said Robert Watanabe, superintendent of Bassett Unified School District, of the event.
La Puente Mayor Louie Lujan and Councilman Dan Holloway, city of Industry representatives, Assemblymember Ed Hernandez, and a representative from Congresswoman Grace Napolitano's office attended the event. Some presented certificates of recognition to the school.
The $8.5 million project took about one year to complete and was made possible through funds from two successful school bond measures approved by voters in 2004 and 2006.
"We mainly wanted to have (the unveiling) to show the community what they voted for and to let them know of Torch's recent accomplishments," said Watanabe.
This is the first new construction at Torch since the school was built in 1964.
The 20, 837-square-foot facility features a complete basketball and volleyball gym with fold-out spectator seating, a full stage, a small conference room, faculty dining area, roomy kitchen with serving line, a small teaching space and meeting facility with
folding partition dividers.
The building incorporates energy efficient building materials, design elements and equipment, state-of-the-art safety features, built-in heating and air conditioning, and more.
Completed in July, the building is already being used for various district and community functions.
Special features of the building also include an assistive listening system for the hearing impaired in both multi-purpose and stage areas including transmitters, receivers, headsets and rechargeable batteries.
The building's audio visual system includes a video system with projectors, a 20x20 foot screen; a sound system with wireless microphone capabilities; and a master control system with a wireless touch panel.
MVE Institutional Inc. of Irvine was the building architect and Digital Networks Group, Inc. of Irvine installed the AV presentation system.
The building was actually completed over the summer and has already been used for such things as district training meetings and by local Kaiser Permanente employees for exercise, said Watanabe.
With all the features of the building, the possibilities for use are endless, and Watanabe plans on promoting fine arts in the district, so he hopes to see theater plays and school concerts there in the near future.
"We're just proud to have this building, and the kids and the community deserve it," added Watanabe, "and that's all that matters."
claudia.palma@sgvn.com
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2110
To see more of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper,
go to http://www.sgvtribune.com. Copyright (c) 2008, San Gabriel Valley Tribune,
Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints,
email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send
a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee
Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
INDUSTRIES
Activate Email 
Find Solutions for Enterprises, SMBs & Service Providers at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference and EXPO East, January 20-22, 2010. Miami, FL.
