In the coming months, Strolenberg and Langhorst will work on the design of the schools. Before that, they also sat down at the table with residents of the Nieuwveense Landen district this week. The new school building must be multifunctional. “In the evening the classrooms are of course empty,” says Strolenberg. “We would like it if it were used later, for example by the theater group in the area. And that is also a wish of the district.” Other wishes of the neighborhood are space for sports, billiards, a small library, or a room for the elderly.
“This is also a political choice,” explains Strolenberg. “There is of course a specific amount to build the school building. But all the extra wishes of the neighborhood also cost money, and they cannot be deducted from the education budget. The municipality must want to pay for that itself. I hope they do, because that’s how make this building really the heart of the district.”
Cooking is also becoming important, explains Langhorst: “We have a kitchen at every school, and we use a lot of cooking and baking in the lessons. We then learn to read using a pack of cake batter. After all, what makes more impact, a bad grade on the reading comprehension test or a cake that collapses and is not tasty? But that kitchen can then be used again by the neighborhood in the evening. And I have the fantasy that beautiful vegetable gardens can be created from which the neighborhood can also benefit. We can really play a role.”
The new schools can probably open in three years, with 2025-2026 as the first school year. Still quite far away, and that will cause problems for the schools. Nieuwveense Landen is the expansion area of Meppel and is being built quickly. More and more families with children are settling there, but there is no school yet. “So we get a lot of registrations at our other schools, such as OBS Sprinkels in the Koedijkslanden district,” says Strolenberg.
But those other schools will soon reach the maximum. In fact, classrooms should be added there now. “But that is a shame, in view of the upcoming new construction in Nieuwveense Landen. That is why I hope that the municipality will look at other buildings in Meppel. Perhaps there is something suitable to bridge the gap for three years, and then get to work on the new construction.”
“Or can we just place those emergency rooms in Nieuwveense Landen?”, suggests his colleague Langhorst. “After all, that sometimes happens when a school is hit by fire. Then they also build an emergency school, which can be done within two weeks. Then we can already develop our school there in the right place, and those classrooms can be used in the evening because there is nothing at all in Nieuwveense Landen, not a single nice space to organize anything.”
Both schools expect a large number of pupils, because Nieuwveense Landen is growing and Meppel is also preparing the adjacent Noordpoort area for housing a little further on. “We thought 600 children at first, but that will be higher. I wouldn’t be surprised if both schools together will soon have around 800 children,” says Langhorst.