About 37 parents and curious residents dropped by Fraser River Middle School on Saturday for the second of two open houses on the New Westminster Secondary School replacement project.
Saturday’s open house was part of the school district’s first round of community consultations on the new high school project. Among the folks who stopped by was Fernando Rodrigues, whose daughter is in Grade 5 at Qayqayt Elementary School. He and his family moved from Brazil to New Westminster in August, and he admits they’ve lucked out – his daughter will have attended every new school in the district by the time she has graduated.
“I’m very impressed with this project,” he told the Record.
Rodrigues was particularly keen to learn more about the different spaces that would be included in the new school, such as science and music areas as well as sports fields.
“We don’t have this kind of opportunity in Brazil; (you) just have to choose a school,” he said. “The community is not part of any kind of a decision, … so I thought it would be interesting to come here and see how it works in Canada.”
For Ingrid Tymm, the open house sparked a flurry of questions about what the new high school and site will look like once it’s complete in December 2019.
“I think everyone is eager to start seeing a design plan, like what’s it going to look like – two storeys, one storey?” she said, adding she thought the future school looked small in the anticipated site plan design.
Tymm, who has two kids in the school system, including a daughter in Grade 3 at Tweedsmuir Elementary School and a daughter in Grade 10 who is already at New Westminster Secondary, was also concerned about the connectedness between Massey Theatre, which will remain in its current location, and the new high school.
The city and school district have been and will continue to be in communication throughout the planning phase for the new high school, according to Pat Duncan, school district superintendent.
But what the new school will actually look like won’t be revealed until the new year, after the second round of community consultations begin. Construction is slated to begin in September 2017.
Folks have until Monday, Dec. 5 to provide feedback to the district. From there, Kirk and Co., a Vancouver-based communications and consultation firm, will compile the information submitted and draft a summary report. The report is expected to be released early in the new year, according to Kirk and Co.
Want to have your say on the high school project? There’s still time. Go to newnwss.com and download the discussion guide. Email comments to the district directly at [email protected].
THE CEMETERY -- What makes the NWSS site so complicated?
- There are two protected areas that intersect the high school property – official cemetery land and Heritage Conservation Act land.
- The official cemetery land is well documented and has been identified with clear boundaries.
- The conservation area does not meet the strict criteria needed to be designated a cemetery site. Under the Heritage Conservation Act, the district must ensure that any burial grounds within the conservation area remain untouched.
- The school district and the province promised that no part of the new high school will be built on known burial grounds.
