The Medicine Hat Catholic School Board of Education is making changes to its grade configuration at Ecole St. John Paul II and St. Mary's School to accommodate increasing student enrolment. Trustees are seen during a recent public meeting.--File Photo
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Ecole St. John Paul II will become a K-5 school for both English and French Immersion streams next school year, immediately affecting Grade 5 students currently enrolled.
Board trustees voted Tuesday in favour of creating a new Grade 6 program at St. Mary’s School, including both English and French immersion options, while also voting to reconfigure the grade structure at Ecole St. John Paul II from K-6 to a K-5 program next year.
Superintendent Dwayne Zarichny told trustees the division is looking at various possibilities to balance the impact of increased student growth, and says the reconfigurations will allow the Medicine Hat Board of Education to optimize facility usage while Holy Trinity Academy is built – set to break ground in early 2025 and be complete by 2027.
This change is due to “rapid enrolment growth” and will move current Grade 5 students to St. Mary’s School a year earlier than expected. St. Mary’s will become a Grade 6-9 school until Holy Trinity opens in two years.
Zarichny explains that Ecole St. John Paul II School was not meant to accommodate what is now more than 300 students currently enrolled. He says the reconfiguration will relieve pressure from the overcrowded building.
“We look at simply just having portables on the building but it doesn’t help the school with getting a bigger gymnasium, or bigger library, or (easing) congestion in the hallways, it simply adds a classroom,” explains Zarichny. “Because of that, the building itself really was never intended to accommodate more than what we already have; we have to look at another option.”
Earlier this month MHCBE held a meeting with parents at Ecole St. John Paul II School to review the grade reconfiguration changes, which were met with mixed reactions.
Parents shared concern about not having enough notice to adjust to changes, as well as concerns about students’ access to programming in middle school. Potential bullying, as well as not having a chance to be “the big kids” in school were also among parental worries.
“It wasn’t a complete frustration on the part of the parents, but certainly, of the 40 people or so who were there, a good portion of them preferred this wasn’t happening this year,” says Zarichy, who explains there is no simple solution when student enrolment is only expected to continue its rise.
“Understandable that they would be uncomfortable with that change, and I understand that, I respect them,” says Zarichy. “The system needs to be adjusted so we can keep growing and keep accommodating the good growth that we’re seeing.”
St. Mary’s School was highlighted as being “maintained exceptionally well” and able to support the temporary increase in students.
MHCBE plans to place St. Mary’s School back into its future capital budget plan with a request for modernization.
