(photo credit to Jeromy Corrigan) 

By Jeromy Corrigan

New School

Sod turned on Grande Prairie’s newest school

Aug 26, 2019 | 12:47 PM

The sod has officially been turned on the brand-new K-9 catholic school in the O’Brien Lake area.

Monday morning dignitaries from the Grande Prairie and District Catholic School Division were joined by Minister of Infrastructure Prasad Panda, MLA for Grande Prairie Tracy Allard, Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given and members of City Council for the official site blessing and sod turning for the new facility.

“This was probably five years or six years of when the thinking first started, even 10 years ago,” stated Michael Ouellet.

“When you actually do all of the work and the administration keeps falling through and you actually get to turn the sod, that means seven/eight years ago what we were thinking is coming into fruition. So, it is very exciting.”

The City of Grande Prairie continues to grow, especially when it comes to the city’s youth.

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“In this community children are our present,” said Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given during the ceremony.

“With more children between the ages of zero and five than we have seniors 65 plus, Grande Prairie is a community of youth. This is why investments like this in infrastructure are so vital.”

Board Chair Ouellet echoed Given’s comments, saying the Catholic School District continues to see a steady amount of growth each and every year.

“Our district is one of the fastest growing districts. We are getting so many students. We even track it down to kindergarten and that is going to tell us in 10 years, 15 years what kind of students we are going to have.”

Minister of Infrastructure Prasad Panda stressed the importance of high-quality education during his speech at the ceremony, especially in Grande Prairie.

“Grande Prairie is blessed with natural resources. In oil and gas, agriculture, and forestry sectors and is poised for balanced growth. When this school produces future engineers, doctors, agri-scientists, Grande Prairie will have enough skilled workers to work in the local economy.”

The school will be 85,000 square feet and as Ouellet shares, they are hoping the school is up and running in 2021.

“2021 is the timeline. We also have to work with that. There are different things that will come up with that. We understand that, but 2021 is a great timeline. If it’s two months late or three months late, that’s okay. We have opened up schools at all different times.”

The school will house 900 students and will be modelled after Norma Rose Point School in Vancouver which is located near the University of British Columbia.