Bennett Elementary school welcomes the community to join in a grand opening celebration of the new school building on the evening of Nov. 16. The event will commence with a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by student-led and self-guided tours and a reception.

The new three-story school is an impressive 85,000 square feet, with state-of-the-art learning spaces including rooftop learning labs, a STEM lab, and an Early Learning Center. The project was funded by the voter-approved 2014 bond measure.

“The new building meets our physical needs and is an inspiration,” Principal David Staight said. “It is an expression of our learning community and represents what we find most important: the future of our children. We want to invite the community to come celebrate with us and thank them for their support.”

Additional features of the new building include a large entry courtyard, a central open area that serves as a gathering space, a second floor library with exposed beams, and an abundance of high and low windows, skylights, small pop-out windows, and window seats, bringing natural light into the building.

“It has a lot of character,” Project Manager Jim O’Malley said. “It’s a beautiful building.”

The ribbon cutting ceremony will be held from 6-6:20 p.m. followed by self-guided and student-led tours from 6:20-8 p.m.

Bennett Elementary is located at 17900 NE 16th St. in Bellevue.