Project on schedule in Magrath
The Magrath school modernization project is well underway and set to be complete within the coming year.
The modernization plan that has been in action since 2016 is now entering some of the final stages as the school complex creeps closer to completion.
In the past few months there have been major developments within the project, says Wade Alston, chief administrative officer with the Town of Magrath.
“The big changes are a consolidated school and public library, a new 250-plus seat theatre, state-of-the-art mechanical and electrical systems, and a 1,000square-metre free-standing Innovation Centre facility, the funding of which was supported by the town.”
As contractors have recently toured through the construction they have also added extra focus to the pouring of the foundation for the new school storage shed.
With a recent update that was shared upon the Town of Magrath’s website, construction workers say that progress is quickly being made in this area, as well as within the technology department, where workers are aiming to have operational systems for teachers to use as the elementary classes are slowly moved back into the alreadyfinished rooms.
The elementary school renovation has been moving at an incredible pace over the past few months and has seen nearly all students being moved back into their classrooms in late April so that work could commence in the other areas of the school.
“The project is going very well so far. We haven’t run into any problems or any major challenges. The project is expected to be completed by the spring of 2018,” says Alston of the modernization project in its entirety.
Although the two-year school complex modernization has been in the works for the past year, the idea to put this plan into action was first proposed in 2014 by Alberta Education.
Since there were many factors that went into determining how to conduct this modernization, the community and partners came together to make a finalized plan.
Even though the modernization was proposed to propel and elevate the learning environment of the youth within Magrath, the opportunity arose to make the modernization a project that would not only benefit the students but also the community as a whole. That’s thanks to the plans to build a modern theatre for both the community and school’s use, as well as allowing the new school complex to enable a community centre function such as enhanced food services, atrium and a jointly-funded school and public library facility.