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Celebration of schools begins today in New Waterford

There will be a lot of New Waterford residents back in school this weekend.

The New Waterford Celebration of Schools begins Friday and continues with activities through Sunday.

The celebration was organized in conjunction with the pending closure of Mount Carmel and St. Agnes elementary schools in New Waterford and the former closure and demolition of the former Central School.

The celebration will begin Friday, July 22, with a registration and social from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. at Mount Carmel gymnasium and continue Saturday, July 23, with a meet and greet and walk through of St. Agnes and Mount Carmel schools from 2-4 p.m. A social gathering will be held in the evening at the Mount Carmel gymnasium from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. The celebration will conclude with an ecumenical service at Saint Leonard Church, Sunday, July 24, at 2 p.m.

All photos and posters in conjunction with Mount Carmel, St. Agnes and Central schools will be on display at the Mount Carmel gymnasium.

The public is asked to note that there is no charge for the ‘walk through’ of the schools but a weekend ticket for all events is $10.

Anyone wishing to attend can either pay at the door or pick up tickets at The Community Press, Fraser’s Store or Mary’s Gifts and Flowers

The New Waterford Celebration of Schools committee includes chairs Cathy Timmons (St. Agnes), Beth Pheifer, (Central School), Jacqueline Poirier,

(Mount Carmel) as well as Dougie MacSween, Ron MacDonald, Mike

Kennedy, Lowell Cormier, Gaye Desveaux, Mary Kavanaugh and Anne Louise MacNeil.

St. Agnes and Mount Carmel schools in New Waterford are two of the 17 schools that the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board announced earlier this year would permanently close over the next five years.

The Frank Angot building, part of St. Agnes School, closed two years ago. The St. Agnes building and Mount Carmel will close in June.

Central School closed in the 1970s.