Hundreds of students at a west Edmonton school were moved to new schools to finish out the year Tuesday, to make way for crews to clear up black mold brought on by water leaks in the building.
Starting Tuesday, students at the Kindergarten to Grade 6 school will attend school at Our Lady of Victories Elementary School and H.E. Beriault Junior High School.
The change came after parents were notified in late March that black mold had been discovered inside the school, caused by leaks due to design flaws in the building.
At the time, the school’s principal told CTV News extensive work was needed to clear out the mold.
“Because of the amount of work they have to do, we feel it is in the best interests of our children to not be around at that time,” Principal Nancy Bergeron said in an interview on March 27.
Edmonton Catholic Schools spokesperson Lori Nagy told CTV News that 325 students and 20 staff were being moved as part of the relocation.
“Definetly there would be some apprehension, most of the students, some have told me that they think this is an adventure, so I think the kids are quite resilient,” Nagy said. “We want to make sure this is as seamless as possible.”
Nagy said the Good Shepherd students will have their own start times and recess, calling the plan a ‘school within a school’ concept.
Work on the school is expected to continue into the summer months.
“Health and safety of students and staff is always the first priority, so we wanted to make sure we moved everybody out of the school,” Nagy said. “Contractors tell us it will take about 3 and a half to four months, and during that time every interior wall will be changed.”
School officials said Good Shepherd is expected to reopen August 25 for staff and new registrations – with classes for the 2014/2015 school year beginning September 2.
