Key Highlights/Special Projects (from the 2006-07 School Report)
This year our school began a new initiative to develop our School Grounds, to both
beautify the area and create safe play spaces for our students. We were very fortunate to
have Newfoundland Power organize an Envirofest for us, in the spring of 2007, where we
created flower beds, planted shrubbery, trees and flowers. This year, we also installed an
outdoor classroom overlooking the ocean, new basketball courts, squareball courts and
hopscotch.
The beautifacation of our site is a natural next step after the school received its new gym,
cafeteria and office space two years ago. We anticipate this will take 3 – 5 years to
complete.
Partnerships
We were very pleased to meet with community representatives from the neighboring
communities, on a consultation basis, prior to starting our Grounds Improvement
Initiative. This included the mayor of Witless Bay and several councillors, Recreation
Directors from Bay Bulls, and our local MHA, Keith Hutchings. All groups were keen to
see us develop the site and pledged to support us in every way they could. Many great
ideas were brought forward that would support the communities along the shore. This is
the beginning of a new partnership that we hope to see flourish. The goal of the Grounds
Improvement Committee for the 2007 -2008 school year is to raise funds to install a
playground. We’re very fortunate to have Hickman Saturn supporting us in this major
fundraising endeavor.
We also have a major partnership with the St. John’s School Lunch Association. They
provide on site hot lunch daily in our lovely cafeteria, which overlooks the ocean The
meals are prepared and served from our own kitchen, with a staff member from their
organization and some volunteer help. We’re pleased to be able to provide nutritious hot
lunches to meet the nutritional needs and therefore better meet the educational needs of
our students.
