City Council backs community centre for French schools

Sault Ste. Marie City Council has tonight thrown its support behind a community centre proposed for the city's new French-language Catholic school - Ecole Notre-Dame-du-Sault.

The site could also be home to Ste-Marie-du-Sault parish, which is considering selling its current building and constructing a new church adjacent to the school and the proposed community centre.

The following information was presented to City councillors tonight:

************************* Sault Ste. Marie's Francophone school community centre

Launch of project

With the construction of a Francophone high school wing and the renovation of Ecole Notre-Dame-des-Ecoles in Sault Ste. Marie (located at 600 North Street), various community groups were interested in expanding previous relationships among Francophone institutions and organizations by integrating a community component in the new French-language Catholic school - Ecole Notre-Dame-du-Sault.

This school, set to open in Spring 2012, will serve junior kindergarten to Grade 12 students and will unite students presently at Notre-Dame-des-Ecoles, Cardinal-Leger and Notre-Dame-des-Grands-Lacs.

Project partners

During the last year, Sault Ste. Marie students, parents, school staff, partners, community organization and the community at large had the opportunity to take part in the consultations pertaining to the integration of a community component in the new French-language Catholic school.

It would be located on the school property and its building would be linked to the school, thus enabling the sharing of space and resources.

The consultation involved the following partners: Centre francophone de Sault-Ste. Marie, Centre d'education et de formation pour adultes (CEFA), Child Care Algoma, Ste. Marie-du-Sault parish, Knights of Columbus, Reseau de developpement economique et d'employabllite de l'Ontario (RDEE Ontario), Centre Victoria pour femmes and the Centre canadien de leadership en evaluation.

The Conseil Scolaire Catholique du Nouvel Ontario (CSCNO), with three schools in this community, is lead project partner.

RDEE Ontario is responsible for project funding and coordination.

What is a school community centre?

A school community centre's core strength is that it allows partners to acquire as a group what they would otherwise be unable to afford separately.

This model has been effective, especially in areas with a small Francophone and Anglophone population.

Sault Ste. Marie's Francophone community is identified as one group that could greatly benefit from this type of centre.

School community centres have been built in Northern Ontario communities such as Dubreuilville and Noelville.

A similar project is presently under way in Thunder Bay.

Some 30 school and community centres exist in various Francophone communities outside of Quebec.

Another 30 school and community centres presently operate in various Anglophone communities in Quebec.

Planting the community component roots of the new French Catholic school is of great importance, given its vocation as a Francophone cultural hub.

By hosting Francophone agencies and services under one roof, the school will better serve as a meeting place for the Francophone community and benefit from synergies between its main cultural, social, religious and linguistic branches.

While strengthening Sault Ste. Marie's francophone community by reinforcing French-language services, the school community centre will favour the retention of the French language by the city's inhabitants and enhance French-language education.

It will help the city gain access to a qualified bilingual labour force as well as draw Francophone families from outlying communities seeking employment and access to French-language services.

It is also believed that this centre will enable Sault Ste. Marie to increase its intake of Francophone immigrants by strengthening its international appeal.

Proposed concept for Sault Ste. Marie

The proposed school community centre would have strong ties to the school.

It is projected that the building's size will be approximately 5,500 gross square feet.

A portion of 3,600 square feet would serve the Centre francophone and the Centre d'education et de formation pour adultes.

It will also include meeting rooms, storage facilities and a community kitchen.

The Francophone community has also indicated that it wishes to add a community health centre which would occupy 1,300 square feet.

The Ste-Marie-du-Sault parish is also considering moving to this site.

Parishioners are presently considering selling their present church and building at their cost a new church adjacent to the school and community centre.

This project is not included in the school community centre project.

The daycare service operated by Child Care Algoma will be located in the elementary wing of the school as it is believed that children will be better served by being in the same area as kindergarten students.

Next step

The actual construction of the community centre will advance independently of the Ecole Notre-Dame-du-Sault project.

Having completed the community consultation portion and business plan for the project, partners are set to tackle the next tasks linked to this project.

Partners will launch a local fundraising campaign and will approach various agencies to secure funding.

Potential agencies that will be contacted include Infrastructure Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and Heritage Canada.

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