Yeti … set … go! And just like that, with the honorary turning of dirt with golden shovels, the building process has officially begun for the new Glacier Hills Elementary School in Sandy.
On hand for the March 31, 2021 groundbreaking celebration were a couple dozen future Yetis: students from Bell View and Edgemont, who will move into the new school when it’s completed in the Fall of 2022.
Some arrived in vehicles with their families. Others walked to the event. A few young students even scootered over to help scoop up some soil on the site of their future school, where Edgemont Elementary has stood since being erected in 1958 — less than a mile away from where Bell View has been located since 1966.
“Today’s students need a building that supports their modern learning needs,” Canyons District Superintendent Dr. Rick Robins said during his ceremony speech. “And they’ll have that in the new Glacier Hills school building.”
Students in the boundaries of Edgemont and Bell View will unite as one Glacier Hills student body — with a very cool Yeti nickname and mascot, so to speak — when the much-needed updated educational structure is finished.
The two-story school, funded with proceeds from tax-rate-neutral bonds, will feature:
- 30 classrooms, all wired for latest teaching technology
- collaborative spaces for teachers and classroom aides to do targeted instruction and group projects
- a stage in the cafeteria that doubles as a theater classroom for arts specialists
- plentiful windows and skylights
- ample parking and dedicated zones for student drop-offs and pickups
- seismic safety and stability
- efficient heating and cooling systems
- a secure vestibule that will usher visitors into the Main Office to check in
“I have to commend the parents, staff and students for coming up with such a cool name for the new school,” said Steve Wrigley, a Board of Education member who represents both elementary schools. “Drawing inspiration from the prominent glacier-cut canyons you see when you look east, the Glacier Hills name is really a unique identifier that will bring the Bell View and Edgemont communities together while also setting the new school apart.”
During the construction of their new campus, Bell View students will continue to stay at their school. Edgemont students will move to their transitionary home-away-from-home at the Crescent View Building after spring break. Students from Peruvian Park will also go to school at Crescent while their new school is constructed on the same timeline.
“As I’ve met with staff, faculty and parents, it has become clear how much pride you take in your schools, and how many shared values you embrace,” said Julie Winfree who will serve as the principal of Glacier Hills when it opens. “Thank you for your support. It means so much. It’s exciting to think that in just a little over one year from now, we’ll be in our new school. We’re going to be so proud of this new addition to the Canyons District community. We promise you that it will be a community of educational integrity, a community of imagination and problem solvers — a community of hope.”
Showing cooperation and unification needed to make this a smooth process, Bell View Principal Chanci Loran and Edgemont Principal Michelle Snarr also spoke at the event, combining with Mrs. Winfree to punctuate their remarks with a cheer: “It’s a great day to be a Yeti”
The building was designed by MHTN Architects and will be built by Hogan Construction. Canyons District Business Administrator Leon Wilcox gave a recap of the ambitious construction schedule with demolition work starting this month, utility and foundation work proceeding throughout the summer, and steel girders beginning to rise from the ground in Fall 2021. It’s expected the building will be fully enclosed by the winter of 2022, at which point crews will focus on interior finishes with the aim of having the project completed in time for the start of the 2022-2023 school year.
