New French milieu school to open in fall

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This article was published 26/01/2016 (3779 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg School Division has announced catchment areas for a new French milieu school set to open in River Heights this fall.

Sir William Osler School, which re-opened in the fall of 2015 as a satellite location for the overcrowded École LaVeréndrye, will officially become a standalone French milieu setting in September.

Sharon Labossiere, vice-principal at LaVeréndrye and the head of the William Osler satellite location, said the changes will see more French milieu seats added to the community.

“LaVeréndrye was a growing population and the division has undertaken a review of French immersion and saw that the numbers are growing and the interest in French immersion has been growing,” Labossiere explained. “So as part of their plan for the division they saw a need for a new French immersion setting, particularly a French milieu setting at this end of the city.”

Come September, William Osler will be home to French milieu students in nursery to Grade 2 and the division plans to add one grade level each year. LaVeréndrye students will return to their school in September.

The opening of William Osler as its own French milieu setting comes after a tumultuous year that saw parents from LaVeréndrye advocating for a swap with Earl Grey School. LaVeréndrye was bursting at the seams with students while nearby Earl Grey was under capacity. The school swap was quashed by the division and plans were set in motion to open William Osler as a secondary site.

So far, Labossiere said the arrangement has been working well and the school is ready and equipped to handle more students in the fall. She also said the addition of a second milieu school in the neighbourhood will mean the system has enough capacity to support all.

Stacy Huard, chair of the LaVeréndrye Community Council, said changes to the catchment area are a positive development in the neighbourhood.

“I think it will eventually alleviate the pressure and all of the overflow at École LaVeréndrye. So I don’t think there’s anything bad about it,” Huard said.

The changes have split LaVeréndrye’s catchment area in half, and students entering French milieu and living west of Cambridge Street will attend William Osler. Students east of Cambridge will attend LaVeréndrye.

“I think it will be beneficial in the long run,” Huard said, noting congestion problems won’t all be resolved immediately. LaVeréndrye’s new gym is still under construction, and the existing gym space has yet to be converted to classrooms. The division expects work to be finished by September, but Huard is skeptical.

“There are lots of children who will be grandfathered into LaV, so there will still be a lot of kids at LaVeréndrye once they do come back,” Huard said.  

At William Osler, there is more work to be done in coming years as enrolment increases. Labossiere said the infrastructure in the building is appropriate for the students attending, but will have to be upgraded as more age levels are added.

“The school division has put in a request to the Public Schools Finance Board for a new building or new additions to this current building as they see fit,” she said. “Eventually they would like to see a nursery to Grade 8 school on this site.”

The school is also hosting an open house and kindergarten information night on Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m. and registration begins Feb. 9. In the immediate future, Labossiere is looking for parents to establish an advisory council for before- and after-school and lunch programming.

For more information call the school office at 204-488-3569.