Centennial Elementary School in the Lakewood Pines sub-division hosted Rotarians for a tour of its campus this week. It's a state-of-the-art campus utilizing multiple themed pods to stimulate learning by its 825 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The overall central theme is an old-fashioned steam locomotive called the “Continental Express” which is visible when you first enter the main lobby. The corridors have stylized “railroad tracks” in the floor tiles leading from the train to the various wings of the building.
 
Lake Houston Rotarians took a tour of the state-of-the-art Centennial Elementary School this week in place of their regular meeting at the YMCA. The guided tour of the campus was led by school principal Alison Pierce and included orientation presentations from Humble ISD Deputy Superintendent Dr. Roger Brown, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Director Larkin LeSueur and Culinary Art Instructor and Chef Daniella Jenkins. The lunch was prepared by the Culinary Arts students from Summer Creek High School.
 
Humble ISD’s 29th elementary school was opened in August 2019 but went into Covid lock-down in the spring of 2020. This has been the first opportunity members of the Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area have had to tour the school.
 
The school is 116,450 sq. feet and serves 825 students in kindergarten through fifth grades. The campus, designed by Joiner Architects, has a unique, state-of-the-art design which features natural light through-out and a layout with pods (classrooms) around a central marketplace for each grade level which allows students to collaborate with each other on projects, lessons and activities.
 
Every learning area of the school has its own theme to facilitate interaction with the displays and with other students. Many of the areas replicate the learning experiences you might find at any large museum and include static displays of everything from dinosaurs and farm animals to replicas of historic Humble locations.
 
Students were observed playing (learning!) to direct robotic balls and racing them in the hallway. There were video screens everywhere and appeared to replace old fashioned chalk boards. All the students had access to iPads to work on their assignments. (Note: Every effort has been made not to photograph students who could be identified out of privacy concerns. Where student’s faces were visible they have been blurred out of focus.)
 
The overall central theme is an old-fashioned steam locomotive called the “Continental Express” which is visible when you first enter the main lobby. The corridors have stylized “railroad tracks” in the floor tiles leading from the train to the various wings of the building.
 
Presentations and lunch provided to the Rotarians was held in the school’s library. Dr. Brown welcomed the Rotarians, made introductions and answered questions.
 
He introduced Mr. LeSueur who explained the district’s CTE programs and the learning experiences and purposes provided in the district. He said the programs are all about providing “personalized student success”. There are 170 different courses in Humble ISD middle and high schools with 40 of those college majors at the high school level. He said CTE endeavors to provide two main things, industry certifications and student internships. There are approximately 16,000 CTE students representing about 70% of the student body.
 
CTE is not only about high tech either. Chef Jenkins explained the Culinary Arts Café and Catering program where the students learn real-life catering skills by providing catering services in the community. Students also must learn and pass their food certifications. A YouTube video of the students working in their Summer Creek High School commercial kitchen is available here: https://youtu.be/oh0ZzRhNPu4 . (And the food and deserts served for lunch were delicious!)

Centennial Elementary School is located in the Lakewood Pines sub-division at 15130 Timber Forest Drive, Houston.

 
The Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area members and guests meet at 11:45 a.m. Wednesdays for their weekly lunch meeting at the Lake Houston Family YMCA, 2420 West Lake Houston Pkwy. in Kingwood.

The Summer Creek Satellite Club meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at 8:30 a.m., at Generation Park 3rd floor Nimble Office Suite, 250 Assay St., Houston.
 
For more information about Rotary or membership, visit www.LHARotary.com or visit us during one of our meetings.
 

Dr. Roger Brown welcomes members of the Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area to Centennial Elementary School for a tour and lunch catered by Summer Creek High School Culinary Arts Cafe and Catering class.