It was a school day kindergarten to grade 6 students at Mill Creek School didn’t want to miss.
They were brought into the school gymnasium where the principal had an exciting announcement.
“The principal told us that today was going to be a really happy day because we’re moving into our new school, but it would also be a sad day because we have to leave our old school,” said Grade 3 student Evelyn McIntosh.
The grades were escorted one at a time to their new school, starting with the kindergarten class.
“Aww, we get to go last, but it was kind of exciting too for those kids to see the school and enjoy it,” said Savannah Armstrong, Grade 6 student.
A new school was announced in March 2017, and construction began in October of the same year.
“We truly believe that every kid deserves a 21st century learning space, the opportunity to experience this and we’re working hard to deliver that,” said Darrel Robertson, superintendent of schools.
The school itself was funded by the provincial government, but the daycare space was paid for by the school district.
Some of the features included in the new school include a dance studio, a kitchen for community use, a larger gym, common areas for teaching and natural light.
“I was speechless. I was so excited I couldn’t say anything at all,” said Armstrong.
“Probably the new equipment and stuff, high tech is really cool, and then a lot of windows, I really like that,” she added.
“It’s so nice, so open, I can see everything, so much light is coming in,” said another Grade 6 student, Julian Chavez-Varrales. “One of my classmates was so happy he started crying. It’s awesome.”
The school was also designed to act as a “living textbook” for students.
“You can peek into the structure of the floor, you can see some of the mechanical in the ceiling, how the solar panels are producing energy for the school. There are so many incredible learning opportunities just from the building alone,” said Robertson.
“And the kids will be able to see on a screen exactly how much energy we’re using, how much we’re getting from the solar panels,” said Mill Creek School Principal Ed Charpentier.
Items in the old school will be donated to other schools or non-profit organizations. Anything that can’t be donated will be recycled.
The old building is slated for demolition sometime next spring with the property to be turned into a field for recreational use.
