Lennox Island school renovations to expand role as community hub

Major ongoing renovations at John J. SarkMemorial School on Lennox Island First Nation have meant that the school opening has been delayed.

The students' first official day of school is now planned for Monday, Sept.10, as teachers and staff are still busy setting up this week after construction cleanup.

"Our school is kind ofeverything to everyone," said Neil Forbes, director of education forLennoxIsland First Nation.

The renovations and expansion at the kindergarten to Grade 6 school will allow the school to better fit the community'sneeds, he said.

There is times we have funerals in there. Chief Matilda Ramjattan

"This will allow us more space and freedom to have more activities for the community, across the board."

Teachers and studentswill be operating out of limited space for the fall semester as renovations are ongoing.

The school will eventually have two brand-new classrooms as well as a newmain entrance, front office, kitchen and cafeteria.

"We are looking at more of a multi-purpose area because of the activities that happen in the school," said LennoxIsland First Nation Chief Matilda Ramjattan.

"Like graduation, Christmas concerts.There is times we have funerals in there. We have had it used as a warming shelter in the past ...We have found that the space that we were using wasn't adequate for the purpose that we were using it for."

Ramjattansaid the changeswill expandthe school's ability as a warming station for the community, with better sanitary and safety measures.

One of the new central classroom spaceswill be a flexible space used as theMi'kmaqlanguage and culture classroom.

"We have had Mi'kmaqhere in the school for years and years but we've never had space for our teachers," Forbes said.

The room will bewill be glassed in, Forbes said, so that the teachers and students cansee the culture in action every day.

Another new space will be used as aclassroom for four-year-oldpre-kindergarten students.

The changes extend to outdoors, too a new traffic layout for parking and student drop-off and pick-up areas should mean better safety for students, who will no longer need to cross a busy street.

The main entrance be be located facingthe school's playgroundinstead of at the front of the building.

"Often, because of the amount of cars, we have a lot of kids coming back and forth," said Forbes. "Luckily,we have had no incidentsbut it's not safe."

The school is the only one on P.E.I. funded by the federal government throughIndigenous Services Canada and has been since it was first built in 1981.

Theschool is a kindergarten to grade six school,mandated by the federal government to follow the provincial school curriculum.

In a statement to CBCNews, spokespersonEdith Pedneault said there has not yet beena funding announcement for the upgradesbut that "one is being contemplated in conjunction with the community."

Indigenous Services and Public Safety Canada are working towardthe emergency warming shelter component of the project,Pedneaultadded.

The renovations are expected to be complete next summer.

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