Cape Breton school turns to modular classrooms for growing number of students

A population boom in New Waterford is something Darren O'Quinn would not have expected five years ago.

Now, so many people are moving to the community that the Cape Breton Regional Municipality councillor says the local elementary school needs to expand.

"First time in a long time in New Waterford we've seen this influx of people come into town. It's great," O'Quinn said.

The Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education acquired a former baseball diamond next to Greenfield Elementary School and plans to have four modular classrooms in use there by September.

O'Quinn said the arrival of families originally from Nigeria and India, along with former residents returning home, has made New Waterford a booming place again. That has pushed up school enrolment.

"The school has had the cafeteria, the library, stuff like that are being used as classrooms right now," he said. "We're at that point where there's really no room for the kids."

The Centre for Education said the growth in New Waterford was higher than anticipated.  

Lewis MacDonald is director of operations for the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education. He said the four modular classrooms will be built off-site before being moved to the old baseball field and hooked up to services. 

Modular classrooms are common in bigger cities due to the ease of creating extra space with minimal disturbance to the main building.

"If we were looking at an addition to the school, for instance, I couldn't even tell you what the time frame would be on that," MacDonald said. "Plus it's a little awkward of how we would add on to Greenfield Elementary."

The increase in enrolment is something O'Quinn has been looking forward to for his community.

"In town every day, you see new faces every day you never seen before," he said. "It's amazing."