On Thursday, Oct. 8, students, staff and dignitaries gathered outside the brand-new Rainy River K-12 school in Rainy River to celebrate its opening.
The school began the planning stages quite a while ago, imagining the union of the former Riverview Elementary School and Rainy River High School.
“This is a momentous occasion as we celebrate the inaugural year of our new Rainy River K-12 School,” said principal Michelle Van Beek. “For many years, our community waited and dreamed about this moment, uniting the rich histories and proud traditions of Rainy River High School and Riverview Elementary School under one roof. Today we’re thrilled to celebrate and recognize the official opening of these doors.”
Van Beek emphasized the importance of the new building to the whole community.
“Above all, this building is not for the teachers or for the staff. It belongs to our students, our parents, and our communities. Every single morning, we have students who travel long distances to get here,” she said.
“They deserve a space where they feel welcomed, celebrated, and accepted-a place they can truly take ownership of and feel proud to call their own. This facility stands as a powerful sign of our school board’s unwavering commitment to our students and their future success, to everyone who contributed their vision, hard work, and support to bring this project to life.”
Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford was on hand to assist with the ribbon cutting and spoke about the inception of the project.
“For Rainy River, it’s a testament to the leaders and community builders that I’ve had a chance to work with, acknowledging your worship [Mayor Deb Ewald] now and councillors on a number of pieces of infrastructure here in Rainy River, but whose efforts are dedicated to building exceptional facilities, including this learning environment where students can thrive,” Rickford said.
Rickford also praised former Education Minister Stephen Lecce (now minister of energy and mines) for helping to get the project off the ground and current Education Minister Paul Calandra for ensuring it moved forward.
Neither minister was able to make it to the celebration, Rickford said, but passed on their congratulations.
“This is part of a historic $30-billion investment to build and upgrade Ontario’s schools and its childcare spaces. Today, we have brought to fruition our collective vision of student excellence, and I couldn’t be more pleased to be a part of it,” Rickford said.
The new school features 311 new student spaces from kindergarten to grade 12 as well as a licenced childcare centre and an EarlyON centre. Among the facilities are a brand-new gymnasium with a full-sized sports court, a cultural gathering space and community use spaces.
Rainy River District School Board Director of Education and CEO Heather Campbell thanked all of the levels of collaborators involved in bringing the school to fruition.
“Projects of this scale are only possible through collaboration,” Campbell said. “I just want to acknowledge with sincere appreciation the Government of Ontario, for Minister Rickford, for their
