With less than a week before the dawn blessing and commencement of works on the 1.6ha site off Lake Ave, in Frankton, the school's establishment board of trustees revealed to the Otago Daily Times the innovative facilities and unique learning environments in which the 460 pupils and more than 20 teachers will work. The multi-tiered school will be fully operational in term two next year.
Pupils will be dropped off by buses on McBride St or by cars on Lake Ave.
The main entrance will be accessed by walking on the landscaped roof of the main block.
Stairs and a lift will lead down to the first floor foyer.
The principal's office, staff room and administration office, plus three of the five "learning pods", will be on the first floor.
On the ground floor will be the two-storey, 300sq m hall; with stage and audio equipment installed.
The 165sq m library and a multipurpose room for information technology, music, drama and after-school care, along with the other two "learning pods", will also be on the ground floor.
Remarkables Primary School establishment board of trustees chairman Roy Thompson said each of the five learning pods will consist of four "learning spaces", catering for the different ways pupils learned most successfully.
"Those learning spaces open out to what we call Da Vinci spaces for combined activities; cultural, science-based activities.
"In the middle of each pod is a teacher resource area, which encourages collaboration between teachers. Each pod has two withdrawal rooms which can be used for a variety of purposes. If a student or group of students needs a quiet time or more intensive one-on-one teaching [for example].
"Some kids are going to learn best in a more traditional environment, with the teacher up at the front. Others are going to need more one-on-one.
"The overall pod design is focused on unique learning . . . When you see these modern environments operating in practice, it's absolutely fabulous, and a far cry from the way many of us were taught in the past."
Elsewhere in the complex will be an outdoor amphitheatre to seat the school's population, plus hard basketball and tennis courts, a playing field with nooks and crannies to fire pupils' imaginations, and staff car parking.
The early childhood centre will be a stand-alone, one level block; and will accommodate 30 preschoolers. Mr Thompson said the entire school would be acoustically insulated, to minimise the disruption from low-flying aircraft using Queenstown Airport.
The school would feature fresh-air ventilation, under-floor heating, high-speed data connections and electronic whiteboards.
"We've gone to some trouble to ensure the school buildings blend into the site as much as possible and complement the surrounds. You're looking down on the school from the Lake Ave drop-off area.
"The unique design of the school offers a major advantage in that the buildings shelter the playground from the prevailing westerly wind."
Naylor Love Construction workers will set up on site from tomorrow.
Works begin on April 21, after a public blessing by a Ngai Tahu representative at 7.30am.
The blessing will be attended by trustees and representatives from the Ministry of Education, Naylor Love, architects Babbage Consultants and landscapers Baxter Design Group.
Also attending will be new principal Deborah Dickson, who starts work on April 27.
A deputy principal will be hired in mid-term two, and more than 20 teachers will be employed once the school is fully opened.
Mr Thompson said Remarkables Primary would open in stages to years 1 and perhaps 2 in the first term of 2010.
"The school will be complete by term two and ready to take pupils up to year 8."
However, year groups for 2010 were yet to be decided, Mr Thompson said.
The establishment board and Queenstown Primary School would, in the next few weeks, launch a joint survey asking parents where they wanted to send their children, Mr Thompson said.
