| Dec 11, 2013


Officials with the Limestone District School Board are still working towards welcoming Kindergarten to grade 12 students to the brand new Granite Ridge Education Centre on the first day of classes after the Christmas holidays.

But it will take a lot of work for a lot of people before and during the holidays for that to happen.

A newsletter went home to parents of children who have been attending at the former Sharbot Lake public and high schools this week. It outlined some of the features of the new 65,000 square foot school, and said that the board still hopes that the students will have an opportunity to “tour the new building and become familiar with the new surroundings before the holiday break.”

In order for that to happen - indeed in order for the new building to open on January 6 - an occupancy permit needs to be issued by the Central Frontenac Township building department. An inspection is scheduled for Monday, December 16, but Jeremy Neven, Chief Building Official for Central Frontenac Township, said he will make himself available after, even through the holidays, in case all the requirements for an occupancy permit are not met when he does his first formal inspection next Monday. “There are so many details, so much that needs to be in place and fully functional before the health and safety requirements are met for an occupancy permit to be issued,” he said.

He also said that he will need the Ministry of the Environment to complete their inspection of the new septic system on the site before he can issue the occupancy permit.

School board employees are presently able to enter the site in order to move in equipment and begin setting up the school, but they are wearing hard hats and work boots and working under the supervision of Pre-Eng, the company that is responsible for the construction.

Heather Highet, the principal of Granite Ridge, has been seconded to work directly on the transition to the new building since November 1.

She said that all the new furniture for the school is being delivered and put in place this week, and 25 SMART boards, one for each of the classrooms in the new school, have already been installed. Teachers are also well into preparations to move their materials over to the new building as soon as the occupancy permit is issued.

“The kids finish on the 19th and the moving is planned for Friday the 20th and the weekend following. Then the board shuts down for a week over Christmas, and we will be back at it on January 2, so we will be ready to welcome students to the new building on January 6.”

Among the features of the school that will be popular with students and community members alike is one that young athletes and their fans in North and Central Frontenac have been waiting decades for - a 6,300 square foot gym with bleachers that will hold 150 spectators. There will also be a weight room capable of holding Powerfit classes with all new equipment. And thespians and theatre lovers will have access to a 1,000 square foot stage in the new cafetorium with seating capacity for 250 for concerts and performances.

The new building will also include a number of features that should ensure its comfort and efficient operation into the future.

Once the students are in place in the new building, work will begin on the demolition of the existing building, a process that will take a couple of months to complete. In the spring, final landscaping work will take place to complete the elementary school sports field and the parking lot.

Heather Highet said that a further newsletter is planned for next week to provide parents with details about how to access the school in early January. The board expects to hold public tours of the new building once the dust, and the students, teachers and staff, have settled in the new building.

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