Renovation wrap
Three Oaks Senior High re-opens doors after three years of reconstruction
SUMMERSIDE – Sarah Hall is the student government president of a vastly different school than the one she entered three years ago.
Hall, a Grade 12 student at Three Oaks Senior High School (TOSH), welcomed visitors to her school Wednesday afternoon during the school’s official reopening.
“On behalf of the Three Oaks student body I would formally thank everyone who has contributed to the reconstruction of our school,” said Hall.
“My peers and I have witnessed every stage of the renovations, which have never fallen short of exciting. Although we may have occasionally complained about certain aspects of the construction, that emotion was nothing compared to the enthusiasm exhibited by the student body when a new section of the school was reopened and unveiled.”
The renovations to TOSH have touched nearly every corner of the school in some way. There are new science labs, resource centres, washrooms, art and computer labs, a black box minitheatre, classrooms and a host of other modern features, technologies and innovations.
The renovations are expected to keep the school viable for the next 25 to 30 years. It was originally built in the 1970s to support about 1,000 students in Grades 10, 11 and 12.
Premier Wade MacLauchlan said the changes brought the facility into the modern era “with a plan and a great vision for what a school catering to a whole community needs to do to prepare students for this 21st Century.” When construction was announced in 2016 the project was tagged at an expected cost $15 million. But some design changes and extra health care precautions during the second year of construction have bumped the price up significantly to $22.6 million.
Parent council president Leigh Dyment called the changes a huge benefit for the area’s youth that will pay dividends into the future. “This is going to make TOSH a vital part of our student’s education for decades to come. We all really appreciate the investment into our students and our community,” said Dyment.
The renovations have not been without controversy though. Health concerns have plagued it since early on.
Classes continued throughout the construction.
Some parents expressed concerns about the long-term health implications for students who were in the school during the renovations.
Most of those concerns centered around the removal of asbestos and the air quality for staff and students. Over the construction period several students switched schools as a result of those issues.
An investigation was conducted by the province’s chief public health officer, examining
potential exposure to particulate matter, as well as lead dust and asbestos found no significant student exposure to lead dust or asbestos during the stated periods.