The community's vision for a new school in the south central peninsula can be seen in this architectural rendering. (Photo: Develop Saint John/Submitted)
Saint Johners are hoping a new K to 8 school is coming to the central peninsula.
Heather Chase, a member of the new school’s task force, says the new building will transform the community.
“We’re looking to this school and this investment as being kind of a game changer and a catalyst to help us move more into a mixed income neighbourhood. We hope to see more families move in, and really focus on that mixed, vibrant community that I think we all would want to live in,” she said.
Chase says as its been 30 years since a new urban school was built in New Brunswick.
An rendering of what the inside of the school could look like. (Submitted: Develop Saint John)
The school would be built on the central peninsula, which is already home to a number of priority neighbourhoods.
Chase says in priority neighbourhoods, schools are often a catalyst for change and growth.
“They are a common meeting point for lots of our residents, so when we started working on this new school, we really took into account the needs of the children and educators, the needs of the families and the needs of the school as a whole,” she said.
She says the school will not only benefit students and families, but provide services for the community as a whole.
They’ve received a number of suggestions from the community about what they would like to see at the school, such as publicly accessible common spaces.
“Instead of designing a space that’s only used for one purpose, we’ve talked about designing space that is flexible so that maybe in the summer time the common spaces could be used for indoor concerts for example, or an indoor movie night,” she said.
Other suggestions include social supports like early learning and after school care, as well as access to a community kitchen.
“We’ve really tried to get creative with what we’d like to see in the school and we’re hoping that we can continue to move forward and see the investment realized in our neighbourhood,” she said.
She says the location of the new school has yet to be decided, but it will ultimately be up to the province.
An open house on the school is being held on September 17th, where community leaders and architects for the project will answer questions and provide residents with information.
