Joshua Cowell Elementary School is among the Manteca Unified school sites currently undergoing extensive modernization.

Last week, students, teachers, staff and administrators had the opportunity to leave their marks on the construction of the new multipurpose building by leaving their “paw” prints – the Cougars are the school mascot.

Included were Principal Stacy Valencia and Vice Principal Dennis Filippini, during this special moment in school history.

As for students, they “lined up, class by class, to sign the beam that will soon become part of the brand-new multipurpose room,” said MUSD on social media.

Besides the multipurpose building, Joshua Cowell updated its playgrounds along with some infrastructure improvements such as new fire systems, asphalt replacement, and pathway and utility upgrades.

Modernization of the school that opened in 1994 – last year, Joshua Cowell celebrated its 30th year anniversary – also involved a revamped front parking lot, renovations to the administrative office, and landscape improvements.

In addition, the current cafeteria will become the school library.

The project was funded, in part, by the Measure A school bond coupled with other sources like Prop. 39.

Joshua Cowell — along with Brock Eliott School — will be among the first California schools to have on-campus battery storage units such as those manufactured at the Tesla plant in Lathrop.

It’s because Measure A bond projects at the two schools must include solar and a battery storage system under recently adopted California green energy rules for public education facilities.

Both campuses will be getting new multipurpose rooms with solar energy panels.