CLASSIFIEDSADVERTISINGSPECIAL ISSUESONLINE SPORTSOBITUARIESNORTHERN JOBSTENDERS

NNSL Photo/Graphic


Canadian North

Home page text size buttonsbigger textsmall textText size Email this articleE-mail this page

Iglulik to get 'proper' school
District education authority wants new building to include more than just classrooms and gym

Miranda Scotland
Northern News Services
Published Monday, August 5, 2013

IGLULIK
After years of asking for a "proper" high school, plans are in place to make it happen for Iglulik.

The design contract for the school was awarded to Guy Architects last month and the company will be carrying out community consultations in the near future.

The new school is being built mainly to tackle the issue of space, said Barry Cornthwaite, manager of capital planning with the Department of Education.

The current high school is at about 83 per cent capacity while the elementary school, which houses kindergarten to Grade 7, is at 86 per cent capacity, he added.

"By the time a new school is built, both the elementary and high school will be very crowded, so we have to be in a state of readiness to have a new school.

"It will take about five years before the school is actually in place in Iglulik."

The new building will be constructed in the same area as the other two schools.

It will be fully accessible to students with special needs and feature an early childhood education space.

There are also plans to add career development areas, such as a sewing room and small engine repair shop.

Once the building is finished, the old high school will be turned into a middle school.

The project has been a long time coming, said district education authority (DEA) chairperson Francis Piugattuk.

The DEA started writing to the Government of Nunavut about four years ago regarding the need for a new high school.

The current building is lacking, Piugattuk said, adding all it has is classrooms and a gym.

Some residents have taken issue with the school since it was built.

Back in the day, he said, students would go to high school in Iqaluit where the schools were well equipped.

"Then when they set up this so-called high school in our community, parents were questioning.

"Now it's gotten to the point where we do need a proper high school," said Piugattuk.

"What if our students want to get into engineering or the chemical field? We have no science class. We don't teach chemistry because there's no space for it."

Part of Guy Architects' job will be to speak with the DEA, the stakeholders, the teachers and principals to determine what should be included in the design, said Cornthwaite.

"We're excited about that being captured in the new high school so Iglulik will have a school that will be good for the young people for sure."

There is no budget for the project yet, but the design phase will cost between $1.5 and $2 million, he added.

E-mailWe welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.