Mitford School will continue to accommodate an estimated 367 Fireside students for a 10-week period starting this fall until Cochrane’s newest school is ready to open its doors in November.
“Certainly we are all disappointed … but at the end of the day it has to be safe for our kids,” said Greg Luterbach, superintendent for Rocky View Schools at the parent information meeting on Tuesday.
Approximately 20 parents and concerned residents attended the meeting to get clarification on transportation, before and after school care and if the school will have its own sports teams.
The Fireside K-7 students will not be charged transportation fees until they are in the permanent school; parents wanting to access before and after school care will be able to do so at the temporary location and Fireside Principal Thomas Elbel confirmed the school will have its own sports teams.
Luterback said any parents who have seen the construction site over the last couple of weeks “probably weren’t gobsmacked surprised.”
After taking lessons from the delayed opening at RancheView, officials will have six modular (also known as portables) classrooms located northeast of the school building for the 300 plus students, calling it a ‘school within a school’ and are promising to keep teachers and classmates the same after the move.
Gym space will also be rented at the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
The Friday before switching to the permanent school, students will be asked to bring home all the contents from their desk as the teachers desks and classroom materials will be moved over the weekend. Students will still attend their temporary classrooms the following Monday with substitute teachers and officially have their second first day of school that fall on the Tuesday.
For more information, go to rockyview.ab.ca
