MALLAIG – St. Paul Education hosted a sod turning ceremony on April 10 to mark the beginning of the construction of a new École Mallaig School.
Principal Kellie Handford spoke during the event and said the construction will mean an increased quality of education for students at Mallaig School. “We’ve been anticipating this for a couple of years and to know that it’s finally made possible is exciting,” she said.
The construction will upgrade many educational spaces, such as a brand-new “makerspace classroom,” which is a hands-on project-based learning classroom, said Handford.
Other upgrades will include the school’s home economics space, as well as a large flex area to be located just outside the new gymnasium, which could be utilized as a gathering space for students to socialize and hang out.
While the current school has two gyms - one for elementary students, and a bigger gymnasium for older students and larger functions, the new school will have just one bigger gymnasium and athletics and events may be disrupted during the construction of the new school.
While construction is ongoing, the school will continue to use the small gym to the fullest extent possible, but the school community will have to seek out bigger spaces for other functions. This will involve potentially renting out spaces to ensure the school’s sports programming will continue, explained the principal.
The project is expected to take about 25 months to complete.
“When it comes to the fall, a lot of our classes [requiring a gymnasium] might be held outside,” she added. “We’re going to just come up with creative ways to host all of our programming that might be done in the gymnasium.”
But the school also has a great partnership with the greater Mallaig community, which will allow the school access to venues like the curling or the skating rink.
“There’s going to be hiccups along the way,” acknowledged Handford, as she thanked the community, parents, and everyone for their patience and understanding during the construction phase.
Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken expressed his excitement with the school’s construction.
“School facilities are cornerstones to any community,” he said. “This is the foundation of the community here in Mallaig, and gives it vision for the future.”
He added, “It strengthens the community and helps it to continue to have for the future and grow.”
With the new school, van Dijken said students at Mallaig can be confident that they will receive education that will set them up for the future.
“At the end of the day, they [students] are the reason that this is being done.”
County of St. Paul Coun. Louis Dechaine, who is also a Mallaig School alumni, said the school has continued to evolve since he graduated in 1981, and the upgrades at the school will mean more opportunities for students.
Mallaig also has a lot of room for growth for young families. “With the new school, it’s more enticing to bring them here,” he said. “It’s definitely going to help keep this community alive.”
Sylvie Smyl, chair of St. Paul Education’s board of trustees, said the students are the future and an investment into students is an investment into the future.
“This is a momentous day for us, and we are very excited to be here,” she said.
The vision for the new school has been years in the making, said Smyl, and, “It’s nice to see that vision come to life.”
Peter Barron, superintendent at St. Paul Education, said construction of the new school is also a key milestone to the growth of the Mallaig community.
“We see all kinds of potential here and I think this is just marvellous.”
He added, “[The community] can be sure that this school will exist for many more years to come . . . We’re behind them.”
Barron said the vision for a new school and the work to make it happen started before he became St. Paul Education’s superintendent in 2022. But he knew a lot of people worked to make it possible.
He thanked everyone involved, including the Alberta government.
“I’m certainly appreciative to the Alberta government in their investment to education and investing in so many schools in our province which is desperately needed,” added Barron.
