St. Andrew building to become fransaskois school

Fransaskois students who live north of Dewdney will have a new school to attend in September.

The Conseil des écoles fransaskoises announced Friday it will open a second elementary school this fall in the former St. Andrew School in south Regina.

The CEF is leasing the building from the Regina Catholic School Division for three years starting in the 2018-19 school year.

“I had the opportunity to visit with students and staff at École Monseigneur de Laval this spring and know there is a need for more space to support the growth in Regina’s francophone community,” Education Minister Gordon Wyant said, as quoted in a news release.

The RCSD closed St. Andrew School last June as it opened a new east Regina elementary school, St. Elizabeth, in September.

The parent community recommended the closure of St. Andrew, as most of the school’s students lived in the southeast.

The 1957 building will undergo some minor renovations this summer, after having received a major facelift in 2010.

The school, to be known as Ecole du Parc, will accommodate up to 225 students from prekindergarten to Grade 6. It will also include a childcare centre.

It will relieve pressure on the elementary Ecole Monseigneur de Laval, which had 388 students enrolled as of Sept. 30, 2017.

Students who live north of Dewdney Avenue will be bused to the new school, while those who live south of Dewdney will continue to attend Laval school on Cowan Crescent.

This is a temporary solution as the CEF awaits a new school in northwest Regina, according to Conseil scolaire fransaskois (school board) chair Alpha Barry.

Ronald Ajavon, the CEO in charge of operations, will offer more information about the new school at a Monday news conference.