THUNDER BAY – In about seven months, two elementary schools students from junior kindergarten to Grade 8 will share a roof.
Both Kingsway Park Public School and Hyde Park Public School students will all be under one roof in September with a newly renovated and expanded Kingsway, which will meet the needs of all students.
Kingsway Park Public School principal Darren Lentz said both the renovation and the expansion will have an impact on the program and the student’s educational experience.
“I think (the students) are excited, they are excited to see change and they are excited for a new gymnasium and play structure,” Lentz said.
“They’ve been waiting for a long time for that and our parent council has been working tirelessly to get that playground, so the students are going to love the opportunities those places provide them with.”
Plans for the renovation and expansion include three new kindergarten classrooms, full-size gym, new full-service child care centre, new play structure, culinary arts classroom, one additional classroom and an outdoor classroom.
Sioux Lookout’s Queen Elizabeth District High School students will be building a timber-framed structure for the outdoor classroom, bringing it to Thunder Bay and setting it up in the fall.
“The outdoor classroom will really fit with what a lot of our students like and our parents were interested in having that opportunity,” Lentz said.
“It fits with our environmental, physical education and outdoor academy that we are doing, so it’s going to be a great addition and it’s going to be used a lot.”
Lentz added that what’s taught in the outdoor classroom will vary from teacher to teacher.
Last month, the Kingsway Park and Hyde Park Transition Committee held their first monthly meeting to plan for the transition of students.
The committee will also plan for some transition events for students and they will have an input on the communication occurring throughout the process.
“Moving to a Kindergarten to Grade 8 system for our board is a big push,” Lentz said.
“Having all those students under one roof and being able to house them, do programming, offer different programs to them and having our intermediates have a chance to model for our younger kids on a more consistent basis is important.”
