School changes in wings for Paradise, Mount Pearl, Goulds

Trustees with Newfoundland and Labrador's largest school board are planning a rejig of schools in Mount Pearl, Paradise as well as the Goulds area of St. John's to deal with shifting demographics on the Northeast Avalon. 

Apart from proposals that could take effect as early as this fall, the English School District is also planning to request money to build a new school in Paradise, which has no junior high or high schools despite huge growth in the last two decades, particularly among young families. 

"Paradise is a tremendously, rapidly growing community," board chair Milton Peach said Monday. 

"We are asking government to now be on notice that we are asking for a new school for Paradise, to accommodate probably junior high and senior high" said Peach.  

The board also approved a number of changes, including adding Grade 9 to Mount Pearl Senior High, with students moving to the current Mount Pearl Intermediate. In turn, Mount Pearl Intermediate would move to the high school, with grades 6 through 8. The school currently includes Grade 5. The revamp would add Grade 5 to Morris Academy. 

For the O'Donel High School system, the board is recommending that the catchment areas for St. Peter's Elementary and Newtown Elementary be combined, and that St. Peter's be turned from a K-6 school to a K-3. Under the plan, Newtown would become a school for grades 4 through 6. 

The board also wants early French immersion students at St. Peter's Elementary and Newtown Elementary to feed into St. Peter's Junior High. 

The board plans extensions to St. Peter's Elementary and St. Peter's Junior High "to meet the programming needs of the school communities." 

The board would like to see most of the above changes be in place for September.