Lennox Island school renovations to expand role as community hub
School opening delayed until Monday
Major ongoing renovations at John J. Sark Memorial School on Lennox Island First Nation have meant that the school opening has been delayed.
The students' first official day of school is now planned for Monday, Sept. 10, as teachers and staff are still busy setting up this week after construction cleanup.
"Our school is kind of everything to everyone," said Neil Forbes, director of education for Lennox Island First Nation.
The renovations and expansion at the kindergarten to Grade 6 school will allow the school to better fit the community's needs, he said.
There is times we have funerals in there.— Chief Matilda Ramjattan
"This will allow us more space and freedom to have more activities for the community, across the board."
Teachers and students will be operating out of limited space for the fall semester as renovations are ongoing.
The school will eventually have two brand-new classrooms as well as a new main entrance, front office, kitchen and cafeteria.
"We are looking at more of a multi-purpose area because of the activities that happen in the school," said Lennox Island First Nation Chief Matilda Ramjattan.
"Like graduation, Christmas concerts. There is times we have funerals in there. We have had it used as a warming shelter in the past ... We have found that the space that we were using wasn't adequate for the purpose that we were using it for."
Ramjattan said the changes will expand the school's ability as a warming station for the community, with better sanitary and safety measures.
One of the new central classroom spaces will be a flexible space used as the Mi'kmaq language and culture classroom.
"We have had Mi'kmaq here in the school for years and years but we've never had space for our teachers," Forbes said.
The room will be will be glassed in, Forbes said, so that the teachers and students can see the culture in action every day.
Another new space will be used as a classroom for four-year-old pre-kindergarten students.
The changes extend to outdoors, too — a new traffic layout for parking and student drop-off and pick-up areas should mean better safety for students, who will no longer need to cross a busy street.
The main entrance be be located facing the school's playground instead of at the front of the building.
"Often, because of the amount of cars, we have a lot of kids coming back and forth," said Forbes. "Luckily, we have had no incidents but it's not safe."
The school is the only one on P.E.I. funded by the federal government through Indigenous Services Canada and has been since it was first built in 1981.
The school is a kindergarten to grade six school, mandated by the federal government to follow the provincial school curriculum.
In a statement to CBC News, spokesperson Edith Pedneault said there has not yet been a funding announcement for the upgrades but that "one is being contemplated in conjunction with the community."
Indigenous Services and Public Safety Canada are working toward the emergency warming shelter component of the project, Pedneault added.
The renovations are expected to be complete next summer.