Students at Innisfail's St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School have finally returned to their own classrooms.
Most of the school's 326 registered pre-kindergarten to Grade 9 students were forced to take their classes during the 2015-16 school year in the upper level of École John Wilson Elementary School. Both schools are part of the four-school Innisfail Schools Campus, which has been undergoing a multi-million dollar modernization project for the past two years.
“We just moved back to our (upper level) north and south wing spaces,” said Shane Chisholm, principal at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, of the students' return after a year of learning inside John Wilson. “The startup, the move back in, has been very hectic because we are just starting to get used to our new spaces right now, whereas teachers would normally have time over August to come and get their classes set up.
“We had a little less than a week to get things set up at the school. We are hoping to settle in this week,” he added. “The staff was beyond amazing. They had the school ready come the first day of school.”
But while the young student body – 25 per cent of which comes from rural areas outside of town – returned to glitzy new learning quarters, the school is still undergoing spot Phase 1 modernization construction, notably ongoing roof work.
“It's not quite 100 per cent done yet, but certainly I'd say 80 per cent of St. Marguerite's is completed,” said Ken Jaeger, supervisor of support services for Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools, adding Phase 1 also included the modernization of the old John Wilson gym for St. Marguerite, new flooring and the installation of new heating, electrical, mechanical, electrical and ventilation systems.
“A lot of things have occurred behind the walls and above the ceilings that we don't see,” said Jaeger.
The modernization at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys School is the first since 1985 when the building was owned and used by the Chinook's Edge School Division. The building was transferred to Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools in 2003 following a request to the provincial government to have a Catholic school in Innisfail. Chinook's Edge still owns the building, which also serves 36 staff members.
Meanwhile, Phase 2 of the modernization campus project began in the upper level of John Wilson in July. It won't be completed until November or even December. When that is finished, the west side of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys will be the focal point for Phase 3, which will be centred around its library and old computer lab classroom.
Chisholm said the computer lab area will be converted into two classrooms, while the library will undergo full modernization, which will include new desks, storage room, heat panel, flooring and lighting. “Basically brand new,” said Chisholm.
As well, the old furnace/boiler room that was taken apart will be made into a student breakout room, an area that gives teachers the ability to move students and groups to work on projects.
Above the breakout room, there will be a future mezzanine for the school's maintenance department to have access to the roof, as well as space for equipment and supply storage, said Chisholm.
Jaeger said the cost for the two-phase modernization work at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys School is difficult to calculate because it's part of the overall cost for the entire Innisfail Schools Campus construction project, which is being managed by Alberta Infrastructure. The province committed $6.9 million for the first phase, and another $12 million in early 2014 to modernize John Wilson school, which directly ties into the upgrades at the Catholic institution. However, earlier this year Jaeger estimated work specifically done for the St. Marguerite Bourgeoys portion could cost in the “three- to four-million-dollar range.”
“The kids' and parents' faces when they walked in to see what had been done were all smiles and very pleased with the results that came from the renovations,” said Chisholm of the Sept. 1 official return.
