Daycare rooms for Havelock, Norwood schools

HAVELOCK -- A bit more than $1.1 million in provincial funding was announced on Thursday to create four new daycare rooms in Peterborough County – two in Norwood and two in Havelock.

It’s all expected to create daycare spots for 78 children.

There will be one new daycare room for preschoolers and one for children up to age 12 added to both Havelock-Belmont Public School and Norwood District High School.

Daycare rooms that accept older kids typically offer care before and after school, when parents are working.

The school in Havelock is getting about $539,000 for daycare, and the one in Norwood is getting $579,000.

Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister and Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal announced the funding on Thursday morning at the school in Havelock.

“Today’s announcement certainly strengthens two of our rural communities,” he said in an interview later in the day. “This is an initiative put forward by my ministry – particularly the rural affairs side.”

The idea is to ensure rural families have as much access to daycare as urban families, Leal said.

Norwood District High School (NDHS) will also add a Grades 7 and 8 intermediate school starting next September, taking in the students from the Havelock-Belmont Public School and Norwood Public School..

The move by the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board follows years of uncertainty at NDHS over declining enrolment.

The new intermediate grades will bring more students to the underutilized school, and Leal said the daycare rooms will help populate the building too.

“This will be a component of keeping this high school open,” he said.

Leal also pointed out that the public board is planning $7 million in upgrades to NDHS.

Those upgrades are expected to include new classroom furniture, flooring and paint, and the library will also be converted into a modern learning commons.

Meanwhile Havelock-Belmont Public School has been renovated thanks to school board spending and also support from local township officials, local contractor Drain Bros, the Lions Club and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

The school now has a modernized library, upgraded playing fields, an outdoor classroom and a new archery program.