Staff
Construction is underway at St. Michael’s School to expand two classrooms in anticipation of full-day junior kindergarten starting there this fall.
“We’re hoping that the project will be complete by the time school starts in the last week of August,” said Chris Howarth, superintendent of business for the Northwest Catholic District School Board.
He did warn, however, that they’re about a week behind at this point when it comes to the timeline for the project.
“I don’t know if we’re going to make that but we’re certainly hopefully that we will,” Howarth said.
Otherwise, students will have to attend school in the gymnasium on a very temporary basis.
Howarth noted the expansion is tied in with the full-day JK initiative from the province, which is set to roll out to St. Michael’s this fall.
As such, the province awarded the board about $630,000 for the renovations to the school.
“We’re going to increase the size of two standard classrooms and turn them into purpose-build kindergarten rooms, which are larger,” Howarth explained.
“A standard classroom is about 750 square feet, just around that, and a kindergarten classroom is 1,000 square feet.”
There also will be a mudroom/coat room where the students can hang their coats, as well as washrooms unique to kindergarten rooms, Howarth added.
To accomplish this increase in room size, construction will see the wall of the building pushed out about 15-16 feet, he said.
Tied into that is an upgrade to make the school’s heating system more efficient.
“[With] funding we got from the province, we’re going to be doing a heating upgrade to that school, converting it from electric heat to natural gas, [and] putting a boiler in with a hydraulic heating system.
“It just made sense to do the two projects together to save funds,” he reasoned.
Howarth also noted the work is being done “pretty much all” by local contractors—Ed Kaun and Sons, as well as a local electrician.
The mechanical contractor is out of Kenora.
“Which is almost local so we’re happy about that; that work is going to the local Fort Frances community,” Howarth remarked.
Last year saw the full-day JK program start up in both the public and separate elementary schools in Atikokan.
Robert Moore School and St. Michael’s were next on the list in the district to see the program roll out.
