Memo to: Parents and Guardians (for a PDF of this Memo, click here)
Date: May 25, 2009
Re: School Extension Update
From: E. Foran, C. Lethbridge and School Council
“St. Bernard’s Elementary, a safe and healthy place to learn, play and grow.”
We’re delighted to inform you that we now have a plan on paper regarding the proposed additional classrooms for our school. We will be getting three new classrooms added to the back of the school. One classroom will be joined at the end of the current elementary wing and two classrooms added at the end of the current primary wing. This will give us sufficient space to be a full two stream school from K – 6.
The involved government agencies have drafted plans and expect the project to go to tender in the next few weeks. They anticipate starting construction in the next few months and that we’ll be able to move into this new space sometime during the 2009-2010 school year! This is exciting news and we look forward to having the new classrooms for kindergarten, grade one and two.
For the opening of the new school year, we have a contingency plan to accommodate the kindergarten, grade one and two classes. We’ve planned this with the best interest of the children in mind and within our space limitations. The following outlines our plan:
Grade two students (29) will be housed together with two teachers in the current grade two room. They will separate into the individual classrooms when the renovations are complete.
Grade one students will use the current grade one classroom as well as the current primary special education room. The grade one room will house 20 students while the primary special education room will have 14 students. The reason for this difference in numbers is the size of the rooms. The grade one classroom is not large enough to comfortably house 34 children, two teachers and a student assistant. When the new classroom space is ready, we will adjust the class numbers to balance them. In the interim, both grade one teachers will frequently work with the full group, as they do this year, in the library, cafeteria and gym. This will enable the children to gain comfort in knowing both teachers well.
Kindergarten will have a full time teacher and a second teacher for half of the day, as we now have enough students (42) to create the third class. Due to the lack of room available to house the third Kindergarten group, we will start the school year with two classes: a morning and afternoon group. The additional teacher will work every morning with the full time teacher, in the same room. She will get to know all the children as the groups rotate morning and afternoons. When the new space is ready, three groups will be created from the two classes, resulting in smaller numbers in each group.
As we work our way through the next school year, we will adjust to the challenges of sharing spaces, working in teams and utilizing larger spaces in the building for some activities. No doubt we’ll feel a sense of ease when the extension is ready and moving day arrives! This past year has worked very well for grade one and two in their shared spaces. A significant level of co-operation has been noted among all involved in the co-teaching classrooms, for both teachers and students alike. We are confident this cooperation will continue.
Any parent with questions should feel free to call us for further discussion. We’re delighted that the Eastern School District and Department of Education could understand our growing enrolment and accommodate our requests in such a timely manner.
Plans of the New Addition
Overview
Detail #1
Detail #2
