Ground broken for another new Sault school (4 photos)

NEWS RELEASES

CONSEIL SCOLAIRE CATHOLIQUE DU NOUVEl-ONTARIO (CSCNO)

DAVID ORAZIETTI, MPP

************************* Notre-Dame-du-Sault school begins

SAULT STE. MARIE, ON - The Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario (CSCNO) and Sault Ste. Marie’s Francophone community celebrated with great pride earlier today the official groundbreaking of the new French Catholic school.

With land preparation work already in progress, the construction site is moving full speed ahead and buzzing with activity.

Owing to the major progress, which will continue into next year, the new school plans to open its doors to students in September 2011.

This event also provided an opportunity to unveil the name of the new school, which will be called Notre-Dame-du-Sault and bear witness both to the city’s French Catholic heritage and the importance of the Virgin Mary in the lives of its citizens.

Francophone schools in the Sault have, in the past 40 years, been named Notre-Dame-des-Écoles and Notre-Dame-des-Grands-Lacs.

With the choice of Notre-Dame-du-Sault for the new school, we acknowledge the importance of the Virgin Mary, earlier schools, and the Great Lakes in the history, heritage and future of the community.

“Today’s groundbreaking ceremony represents an important step forward in our government’s plan to provide students with state-of-the-art schools that will help them reach their full potential,” said David Orazietti, MPP Sault Ste. Marie. “It has been decades since a provincial government has provided funding to improve infrastructure and we are continuing to build new schools, create construction jobs and further strengthen our local economy.”

“Proud of the success and rich history of our Francophone Catholic community, we want to provide our students with a quality, community focussed school that can meet the needs of students and the community at large,” declared CSCNO President Mr. Marcel Montpellier. “Once construction is completed, Notre-Dame-du-Sault will figure prominently in the life of the community. Benefiting from the community’s strengths and contributions, the school will include community use space that will ensure the school’s vital role as a Francophone cultural hub.”

Located on the current site of Notre-Dame-des-Écoles school at 600 North Street, Notre-Dame-du-Sault will combine three existing schools (Notre-Dame-des-Écoles, Cardinal-Léger and Notre-Dame-des-Grands-Lacs).

The $7,480,000 project will enable renovation of the existing Notre-Dame-des-Écoles building structure and construction of a 36,000-square-foot annex.

The Province of Ontario will contribute $6,880,000 in funding, while the CSCNO will invest $600,000. 

The project responds to the wishes expressed by French Catholic parents and students for a community school that serves students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 and provides space for Francophone partners.

The daycare managed by Child Care Algoma will continue to occupy the premises with space available for some 30 preschoolers.

Two pillars of the Sault’s Francophone community will also have new space in the school: the Centre d’éducation et de formation pour adultes (CÉFA) and the Centre francophone de Sault-Ste-Marie.

“The school’s community component is something we hold dear and which will certainly contribute to the school’s growth,” stated CSCNO Director of Education Mrs. Lyse-Anne Papineau. “Bringing many of our school partners together under a single roof, allows us to widen the Francophone space made available to our students and strengthen the quality of education provided at both the elementary and secondary school levels. We strongly believe that the new school will raise the level of French Catholic education in the region and will enable us to draw greater numbers of students in the coming years.”

Convinced of the importance of the community component of the school, the CSCNO and its partners are currently engaged in a process of consultation that will allow them to identify the needs of the community and define the evolution of the community dimension of the new French Catholic school. In bringing Francophone groups and services under one roof, École Notre-Dame-du-Sault will serve as a meeting place for the Francophone community and benefit from synergies between its main cultural, religious and linguistic arms.

The Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario offers a French Catholic Educational Program that is recognized for its excellence.

With more than 7,400 students in 28 elementary and 10 secondary schools, the CSCNO offers a positive learning environment from early childhood to adult education.

************************* Orazietti announces launch of construction of new $7.8 million French Catholic school expansion

McGuinty government building more state-of-the-art education facilities for local students

SAULT STE. MARIE, ON - David Orazietti, MPP was joined today by officials from Conseil Scolaire Catholique du Nouvel-Ontario (CSCNO) school board to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new JK-12 French Catholic school in Sault Ste. Marie.

The new school, which is named École Notre-Dame-du-Sault, will consolidate two junior kindergarten to Grade 8 elementary schools and accommodate French language grade 9-12 students in one state-of-the-art facility that is scheduled to open in September 2011.

“Today’s groundbreaking ceremony represents an important step forward in our government’s plan to provide students with state-of-the-art schools that will help them reach their full potential,” said Orazietti. “It has been decades since a provincial government has provided funding to improve infrastructure and we are continuing to build new schools, create construction jobs and further strengthen our local economy.”

The provincial government is providing $6,880,000 under the French-Language Capital Transitional Program for a renovation of École Notre-Dame-des-Écoles and the construction of a new 36,000-square-foot expansion of which CSCNO will invest $600,000 for a total of $7.48 million.

French students moving into this new facility are currently enrolled at Notre-Dame-des-Écoles, École élémentaire catholique Cardinal-Léger on Rankin Road and École secondaire catholique Notre-Dame-des-Grands-Lacs on St. Georges Avenue East.

The new school will have a capacity of 566 pupils.

Students will have access to a variety of modern learning spaces, with a new double gymnasium, library, polyvalent workshop, science and computer labs, support centre, kitchen and auditorium.

The Caroussel des amis Daycare Centre will enjoy more space for their learning programs and remain on the premises, with space available for some thirty children. In addition, the new school will provide space for the Coin des Mots and the Centre francophone de Sault-Ste-Marie.

Today’s event is the third school groundbreaking in Sault Ste. Marie in the past five months as construction began on Superior Heights Collegiate and Vocational School in February 2010 and construction began on Francis H. Clergue elementary school in April 2010.

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