Helping St. George School serve its community

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/11/2021 (559 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

During my first two terms as a city councillor, there were no St. Vital ward-funded announcements for St George School a kindergarten to Grade 8 school in the St. George area of the St. Vital ward.

 
This term we have been making up for lost time with three projects. In early November, I joined Louis Riel School Division trustees Chris Sigurdson and Robert Page to celebrate the new community kitchen facility at the school.

St. George School is a very culturally diverse school with students from over 38 different countries. Many of these students are from economically challenged backgrounds and reside east of St Anne’s Road, in a part of St. Vital that has been identified as having the lowest median incomes in the city outside of the core area. Part of the school administration’s mandate has been to connect these students and their families to the school through its family centre and community kitchen.

In 2018, I was pleased to contribute funding for anew hydrology table, which St. George School uses to educate its students about the Seine River eco-system and about waterways in general. In spring 2021, I provided $10,000 in funding to upgrade the crumbling outdoor basketball court at St. George — where I was again joined by trustee Sigurdson, my former Hastings School and Dakota Collegiate basketball teammate.

The most recent project is the largest, with $40,000 in city funding for the new community kitchen. This kitchen project was completed with the support of the school and the Lighthouse program.

The kitchen will be a community space utilized for cooking, information sessions and feasts. Along with the adjacent family centre, the kitchen will provide a safe, inclusive space for families to come together. Food connects every human and can do wonders to help break through language barriers and cultural differences.  

St. George School has evolved a great deal since its opening in a brand new subdivision in the mid 1950s, and I am pleased to assist the Louis Riel School Division in helping the school modernize and adapt to serve the diverse student body.  

Brian Mayes
St. Vital ward report

Brian Mayes is the city councillor for St. Vital.

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