Helping welcome kids back to school

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/09/2020 (1892 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

September has been very challenging for school teachers and administrators, as a new school year has begun amidst the continued uncertainty of COVID-19.   

I have had an excellent relationship with the Louis Riel School Division during my years as a city councillor and in recent months I have been pleased to provide some financial assistance to help improve the transition back to school.

Modern kindergarten to Grade 8 schools now often house family centres. I recently provided a grant of $2,300 to Glenwood School to purchase new materials for its family centre, including toys, games and learning aids. These centres offer services to families and also provide a welcoming space for new Canadians. I have seen first-hand how other centres assist parents wanting to take steps to learn English as their kids get used to the Canadian school system.

Further south in the ward, the city and the LRSD were able to work out an arrangement to finally have the lane resurfaced between Parkville Drive and École Marianne-Gaboury School and Hastings School. This lane is heavily travelled by parents, teachers and school buses. While it was not a gravel lane, it had been paved using chip seal and was in far worse shape than concrete lanes.  he resurfaced lane, combined with the paved parking lot linking the two schools, makes for a much better experience for parents and for residents living on Parkville.

On the Minnetonka School grounds, I was able to allocate $5,900 in ward funding to help upgrade the basketball court behind the school. This builds on earlier partnerships with the LRSD for basketball courts at Darwin, Lavallée, Dakota and Windsor Schools.

At École Guyot (situated just outside my ward, which serves a significant number of students from St. Vital) Coun. Matt Allard and I, combined forces to pay for a huge new outdoor circular bench to enhance the school play areas.

I have two other much bigger projects relating to area schools, set to open in the coming weeks — tennis courts at Dakota Collegiate and a new play structure in the city park outside of D.W. Penner School — but the small projects also deserve attention.