Staff and students at the Old Donation School (ODS) are inviting the public to tour their new state-of-the-art home and take in a show as well. Doors to the new building will open at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22. For an hour, guests will be able to tour the new 225,000 square foot school, located at 4633 Honeygrove Road. At 7 p.m., the ODS seventh and eighth grade orchestra, as well as special appearances by the Bayside High School Advanced Orchestra and the Landstown High School Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a free concert for guests.

Throughout the tour, guests will be able to walk through the school's outdoor classroom areas, differentiated learning spaces in the hallways and classrooms, 800-seat community theatre as well as its black box theater.

Additionally, the new ODS is on target to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Schools Gold Certification due to the building's sustainability features. During the tour, guests will see some of these features up close. For example, through the strategic use of windows, more than 75 percent of the school's interior spaces are lit via sunlight. In addition, water use for the school is dramatically reduced with rainwater captured on school grounds and reused for irrigation and flushing toilets in the building. The school can also serve as a Category II hurricane shelter.

For those unable to make the tour and concert Wednesday night, the school is hosting similar events throughout the spring for members of the community. All events are free and open to the public, with the exception of the school's spring musical performance, May 12 and 13, which has a ticket charge at the door of $5. See the complete list of events below:

ODS serves more than 1,200 of the division's gifted students in grades two through eight. It is also host to the division's Elementary Dance and Arts Program. Students will begin classes in their new school, Monday, April 3.

For more information about the school's construction, visit the school division's website, vbschools.com. For specific questions about tour times and dates, contact ODS at 757-648-3240.

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Department of Media and Communications, [email protected]

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