Karen Bennett said if she could “wave a magic wand” and keep her kids’ school open, she would.
But next year, St. Christopher Catholic Elementary School will close, along with St. Theresa Catholic Elementary School and Corpus Christi Catholic Elementary School.
All of the students from St. Christopher, and some of the students from St. Theresa and Corpus Christi, will be sent to a brand new 350-student junior kindergarten to Grade 6 school.
The school, called Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School, is being built next to St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.
About 200 Grade 7 and 8 students from St. Francis Catholic Elementary School, as well as St. David Catholic Elementary School, will attend school in a new wing at St. Benedict, which is also under construction.
“(St. Christopher) is a wonderful, little neighbourhood community school,” Bennett said, speaking to Northern Life after a ground breaking ceremony at the Holy Cross school site Sept. 10.
“It’s very close-knit, and everybody knows everybody, as it is with the other schools that are closing. The process was the process. It’s done. It’s over. But we are very much looking forward to the new school, and all of the other schools coming together.”
Next year, Bennett’s youngest son, Jonah, will be in Grade 5 at Holy Cross, her middle son, Tyler, in Grade 7 in the new wing at St. Benedict, and her eldest son, Max, in Grade 11 at St. Benedict.
... we are very much looking forward to the new school, and all of the other schools coming together.
Karen Bennett,
parent of children attending St. Christopher Catholic Elementary School
The new school and the addition to St. Benedict will cost $16 million in total. Construction is due to be completed in September 2011.
The province funded $11 million of the cost, with the balance coming from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s reserve fund and savings coming from the closure of schools.
A few years ago, Bennett was a member of the accommodation review committee which provided options surrounding the fate of Sudbury Catholic District School Board facilities in the city’s South End.
She said the connections the parents made during the accommodation review process are now helping them come together as a new school community.
Students break ground on the new Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School during a ceremony Sept. 10. Photo by Heidi Ulrichsen
“We’re also looking at putting together an event or two this year, where all of the kids come together and meet each other before the official opening of the school next year.”
Cynthia Zilio said her three kids, Anthony, Colleen and Jack, who also attend St. Christopher, are sad to be leaving their old school, but excited they’ll get to attend class in a brand new facility next year.
“They know children from other schools, and they’re looking forward to the nice, new, clean, green facility,” she said.
Laura Kuzenko, the new principal of Holy Cross, said she plans to set up a “team” made up of representatives of all the closing schools to ensure the transition to the new school goes well for all the students.
She said she hopes to see physical reminders of the old schools incorporated into Holy Cross’ design.
“We’ve had a lot of great suggestions already,” Kuzenko said. “It will be something that we’ll work on throughout the year. We want to make sure that we do honour the existing schools and the school communities they’re coming from.”
Like several new schools being built in the Sudbury area, Holy Cross will be a “green” facility, Jody Cameron, chair of the school board, said. “We’ll have a 100-watt solar system on the roof, as well as one, if not two, windmills,” he said. “We’re still looking at the cost of the extra windmill.”
Renovations and additions to St. Benedict will include the addition of a third, 4,000 square foot gym, the construction of a cafetorium (a cross between an auditorium and cafeteria) and the construction of new classrooms.
While Cameron was quick to point out the benefits of brand new facilities for both elementary and secondary school students, he realized the process hasn’t been easy. “All accommodation reviews are very difficult,” he said.
“They’re very emotional. These are community schools that are built in their neighbourhoods. With closing them down, there’s a sense of loss there that they feel. But I commend them all for having an open mind in realizing this vision.”
