What’s new at school?

Meriwether Elementary School

Location: Joint-Base Lewis-McChord/Clover Park School District

Opening day: Aug. 27

Student capacity: 450

Price tag: $35 million

School mascot: Explorers

Grand opening: 4 p.m. Oct. 8 at Meriwether, 10285 Compass Ave., JBLM Lewis-North

Rainier Elementary School

Location: JBLM/Clover Park School District

Opening day: Aug. 27

Student capacity: 650

Price tag: $38 million

School mascot: Panthers

Grand opening: 4 p.m. Oct. 8, also at Meriwether

Washington Elementary School

Location: Proctor District/Tacoma Public Schools

Opening day: Sept.3

Student capacity: 425

Price tag: $30 million

School mascot: Cougars

Grand opening: 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 10

Other area school projects

New commons building at Keithley Middle School

Location: Parkland/Franklin Pierce School District

Opening day: Mid-school year, possibly as early as December

Price tag for this project: $9.5 million

Details: Multi-purpose space for student meals, assemblies and performances. Seating capacity jumps from 360 to 546. Central kitchen facility can prepare meals for all elementary schools in the district. New band/choral room and computer lab. Available for community events outside of school hours.

Remodeled science labs at Charles Wright Academy Upper School

Location: Tacoma

Opening day: Aug. 27

Price tag: $750,000

Details: New 1,000-square-foot lab, existing labs enlarged, a research lab, remodeled greenhouse. One lab is named for the late George H. Weyerhaeuser Jr., a Charles Wright alumnus.

Dedication ceremony: 5 p.m. Sept. 11

This story was originally published August 30, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "What’s new at school?."