LENNOX ISLAND, P.E.I. - Classroom space at John J. Sark Memorial Elementary School in Lennox Island is more cramped than ever this school year, but that is all in the name of progress.
“When we get back in school (next September), everybody’s going to be at their own desk in their own classrooms, and it is going to be awesome,” Chief Matilda Ramjattan said Friday, Oct. 26 after Egmont Liberal MP Bobby Morrissey confirmed a $5.3 million federal contribution to the school’s renovation and expansion project.
Construction is already well underway, having started over the summer, changing classroom space around so that teaching could continue in one part of the school while renovations are carried out elsewhere in the building.
Lennox Island First Nation had documented the school’s need for more space, not only for staff and students but also for the community. The First Nation community has even gained its own version of a round-about, a turning area between the school and the band office where parents can drop off their children away from the high traffic area in front of the school.
The school expansion will accommodate a principal’s office, kitchen, cafeteria and a health room, while the renovations will provide dedicated space for Mi’kmaq language and cultural education programs and pre-kindergarten classrooms. More space will be available for staff and for storage.
“Our government is proud to support spaces for the community to deliver these kinds of cultural learning experiences which help students build a strong sense of pride and identity that will stay with them throughout their lives,” said Morrissey.
“This project is for the children of this community, the young people, which is our future,” Morrissey ackowledged.
He commended the Lennox Island First Nation for its progressive planning.
Chief Ramjattan commended First Nation staff members for their planning efforts and proposal-writing, and the community for its buy-in.
O’Leary-Inverness MLA Robert Henderson said Lennox Island is currently the fastest growing community in Western P.E.I. “It’s good to know that you’re going to have a school that is going to keep up with that growth,” he commented.
The kitchen and cafeteria area will also be available to community members as an emergency warming area. Chief Ramjattan said the school was already identified as an emergency space, but deficiencies were identified during an ice storm in 2010. An emergency generator is part of the plans for the renovations.
Director of Education for the community, Neil Forbes, acknowledged the federal contribution.
“It’s a very exciting project that means the world to the staff and the students. It is going to go far to help the staff and students fully realize our vision of our students having every opportunity available to them in the future,” he commented.
Cultural and tourism coordinator, Jamie Thomas, who was emcee for the funding announcement, said the school is like a second home for members of her community.
Commenting on the community’s progressive planning, Morrissey said he hopes to be back soon to announce funds for other projects the band council is pursuing.
Chief Ramjattan shared that hope.
“I am just over-the-moon with the things that are happening here.”
