More space for learning

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/09/2019 (2411 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The new addition to La Salle School is exciting for students and staff, according to principal Robert Bouchard.

“It’s been a welcome change,” Bouchard said.

Construction work is still ongoing inside and outside the school at 43 Beaudry St. as part of the building project with a total cost of $10.5 million. This cost includes construction of a standalone building that’s dedicated for daycare use.

“Now we can all be in the same building instead of going into four huts,” Bouchard said.

“The project has gone exceptionally well,” Seine River School Division superintendent Mike Borgfjord said. “The school just didn’t have enough space.”

The project added approximately 15,600 square feet to La Salle School.

Much of the construction took place over the summer as three of the school’s four portable classrooms were moved off the property, with the last one scheduled to be removed soon. A large two-storey addition was built onto the west side of the school. It contains a gymnasium with adjacent change rooms, six classrooms for middle-years students, two meetings rooms and two new sets of bathrooms. An elevator makes it accessible, Bouchard said, and the classroom doors will have touch opening capability.

Borgfjord said the new gymnasium is a great asset for students and will be available for community use as well.

Large windows overlook the school grounds that will be landscaped next year. Some of the land is owned in partnership between the Seine River School Division and RM of Macdonald, as the school’s property was extended onto land purchased directly north of the school.

“We’ve given our students a big space,” Bouchard said.

He added, in the 2018-19 school year, La Salle students completed a project in which they surveyed outdoor play areas at other schools and recreational facilities. The results they compiled will be used to help students, staff and parents decide on what type of outdoor amenities will be installed.

The school’s former gym is being turned into a kindergarten classroom and library. The former library is being turned into a resource area. There is now more space for a staff room and office area.

Bouchard said the building project has transformed the school from a crowded situation for students and staff to an environment that is spacious, bright and welcoming.

Registration for the 2019-20 school year is at 350, and Bouchard believes there will be room for more students in future years as the community continues to grow.

Some of the future students are likely to come from the childcare centre that was built over the past year as part of the SRSD project. While the building is owned by the school division, La Salle KIDZ Daycare Inc. is operating the centre that opened on Aug. 12.

The non-profit organization also operates a centre at 90 PR 247 E next to the Caisse Community Centre in what was the former community club’s site.

Board president Jenn Penner said La Salle KIDZ had just opened its first centre on May 14, 2018 after years of fundraising and grant-writing when they heard about the SRSD’s request for proposals for an organization to operate the new daycare centre.

“We forged ahead and worked collaboratively with the school division,” Penner said.

The new centre has spaces for eight infants and 32 children aged two and over. At 3,672 square feet, it is smaller than the other site that is licensed for a total of 60 childcare spaces.
Executive director Lidan Xu said it wasn’t difficult to fill the spaces in the new centre. While priority is given to families who live in La Salle, there are a few who come from Domain and Winnipeg.

“We offer it to La Salle families first,” she said. “All of the new enrolments are only from La Salle.”

Penner is thrilled that the second centre is successful, and believes that both childcare centres are filling a vital need in the community. She said the organization’s nine-member board now includes parents who have recently enrolled their children in one of the two centres and are eager to help.

“We’ve got a lot of new faces on the board. It’s all been very positive,” Penner said.

Xu said parents volunteered to help arrange furniture and set up equipment in the new centre.
“We really get a lot of support.”

The extra hands are being used to help organize La Salle KIDZ fundraisers including the Touch a Truck event on Sat., Oct. 5 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Caisse Community Centre (80 PR 247 E). The money raised will be used to buy a large shed to store outdoor play equipment.
Penner said the new location will be open that day if people want to stop by to see the building’s interior.

Xu said, despite opening the second location, La Salle KIDZ still has a waiting list of 65, but only about 15 of those represent children who need immediate care.

For more information on La Salle KIDZ Daycare Inc. see http://www.lasallekidz.ca