A peek at plans for former Alexander Henry site (3 photos)

Algoma District School Board (ADSB) trustees and administrators got an official look at renderings of the new Boreal French Immersion school site at their Tuesday meeting.

Renovation plans for the school, on the former Alexander Henry School site at 232 Northern Avenue, were approved by the Ministry of Education in late May.

“This gives you a sense of how happy we were to get the funding for the Boreal site and some of the concepts that are out there right now,” said Joe Santa Maria, ADSB superintendent of business, in a presentation to the board.

“Our intent is (to open the school) for September 2018.  That’s what we’re shooting for.  We have a great contractor on site.  Weather is always a big factor when you’re doing the outside and getting that ready, so if we can get the exterior done by early fall, it allows us to work on the inside throughout the winter,” Santa Maria said.  

Santa Maria gave a quick outline of the project, which includes space for a library, a learning commons, new windows and other features.

The province first announced $6.7 million in funding for the new French Immersion site in October 2015.

It is projected the school will accommodate approximately 620 French Immersion students.

It was also announced at Tuesday's meeting the ADSB will be able to go ahead with upgrades to several other schools, thanks to $1.5 billion in Ministry of Education capital priority funding for school boards in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years.

The ADSB’s share of that funding is approximately $20.5 million and will be spent on upgrades to Central Algoma Secondary School (CASS), Central Avenue Public School, Eastview, Kiwedin, Korah Collegiate, White Pines 7-12 School, the Algoma Education Connection School (Prince Charles site) and Ben R. McMullin Public School.