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It is a highly energy-efficient building, designed to obtain a gold rating in sustainable design by the Canada Green Building Council.

It is also the newest school in the Toronto District School Board.

Brookside Public School opened its doors in September to more than 600 kindergarten to Grade 8 students in north Scarborough near Markham Road and Steeles Avenue.

But the official school opening took place Wednesday, Dec. 5 with nearly 200 parents, students, staff and local dignitaries, gathering in the gymnasium to celebrate the newest elementary school in Toronto.

"This signifies the coming together of a community where students will grow and learn together," said Brookside principal Naomi Smith.

She recalled the first day of school as being "a good crazy" and "organized chaos." But it seems everyone has settled in nicely over the past three months.

In keeping with the eco-friendly nature of the school, Brookside students have formed an environmental club and participate in litterless lunches, Smith said.

Ward 21 Trustee Shaun Chen (Scarborough-Rouge River) praised the design of the building and the fact that it is aligned to get optimal light and heat from the sun.

There is also a large bike rack area and limited parking spots to encourage walking and cycling to school, a grow wall with leafy plants to provide shade in hot days and a concrete cistern underground for holding runoff precipitation to be used for flushing toilets.

"It is a model green school not only in Toronto but across Canada," Chen said. "But a building is a building and a building is nothing without the people in it. Across our board, we have declining enrolment but Scarborough-Rouge River is a growing community."

Moving into the new 71,000-square-foot school, which includes a 5,000 square-foot childcare centre, was exciting for students Nirsan Kunaratnam and Banusha Mahendren.

"It feels like one big family," said Nirsan, who is in Grade 8 and will be in the first class to graduate at Brookside in June.

Grade 7 student Banusha agreed, but admitted she was a little worried at first when transferring to Brookside from Fleming Public School.

"Not a lot of people from my own grade were coming too," she said. "But I made a lot of new friends on the first day."