Dwayne Zarichy provides families new details on the new Holy Trinity Academy K-9 school during a public information night at Holy Family Parish on Wednesday.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Details on the current construction status and future plans for the new Holy Trinity Academy school were revealed Wednesday night during a public information night for families.
The session discussed the transition to the new K-9 school that will accommodate more than 950 students, administrative changes, funding gaps and provided a timeline for when parents of students will be moved into the building.
Officially the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education is planning an official opening date for the new school on Aug. 27, 2027, however the school division is hoping to gain control of the building by next March if construction remains on schedule.
This will allow staff members from all three feeder schools, St. Mary’s, St. Michael’s and St. Francis Xaiver to get settled into their new learning spaces before welcoming the first batch of students.
Superintendent Dwayne Zarichy says at that time, students from St. Francis Xaiver will be moved into the school in totality and resources will also be moved so crews can begin demolition of the old St. Francis Xaiver building which is expected to take two months to finish.
“They’ll start demolishing the old St. Francis, it’ll happen almost immediately as soon as the last box is carried out of the building,” said Zarichy. “And then the rest of the work on the parking lot and playground will take place.”
If all runs smoothly, the school will be welcoming students from St. Mary’s and St. Michaels for the beginning of the 2027 school year.
The principal of the new school will be Brad van Middlekoop who will be supported by vice principals Alexa Bastel and Andrea Rota.
Parents were told the new school aims to be one of the most accessible schools in the province and will include features like adjustable workbenches and stove tops for wheelchair users.
The school includes a 400-seat theatre with wheelchair seating, which is a rare feature for schools in the province, as well as facilities like a wood shop, music room, visual arts space and culinary food lab.
The school will also feature two-full sized gymnasiums that can be utilized with McCoy’s gym to host large tournaments and is designing its outdoor playground to be one of the most accessible in Canada and will have structures accessible by wheelchair and designed for wheelchair users.
“This design is actually if we can pull this off with the fundraising that we are doing, this would literally be one of the most accessible playgrounds in Canada, we know that because some of the equipment isn’t actually available yet to be sold,” said Zarichy.
Parents were told the school division was able to receive approximately $65 million of funding for the new school, however due to rising costs in the project as well as expanding the gym and adding the accessible playground, the school division still needs to raise $5 million to complete the project and will be actively working with support groups, local businesses and larger corporations to secure the funding.
Zarichy says the division needs to raise approximately $2 million to ensure the second gymnasium was built at the high school standards and the smaller elementary standards that were approved by the province.
Roughly $1 million is sought after to complete the outdoor playground and approximately $2 million will be used to purchase educational equipment needed in classrooms like smartboard and audio systems for the new theatre.
The school division also spoke to parents who are interested in enrolling their children into the new school and said to make sure they are enrolled in one of the three feeder schools prior to the transition, however spaces are filling up quickly.
“Even though that building is designed for 956 students, based on projections and the interest that’s been expressed, there is a slight concern that we might be full right under the gate,” said Zarichy.
The information session concluded with a slideshow and virtual tour of the school.
