Paul Kane students got to see their future home take shape last week as officials broke ground on St. Albert’s next new high school.
Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange joined local MLAs and St. Albert Public school officials Sept. 10 to officially kick off construction of the new Paul Kane High School.
Paul Kane started off in what is now the home of Lorne Akins Junior High in 1963 and moved to its current home at 12 Cunningham Road in 1973.
The 47-year-old building was showing its age, especially when compared to newer ones like Lois E. Hole Elementary, said Grade 12 student Siji Adekunle.
“There’s like two windows in the entire building and the air circulation is like it is in a prison,” he said of the current building, adding it also had crowded halls and non-functional gas valves in some rooms.
The province announced the construction of a 1,500-student replacement school for Paul Kane in March 2018. Plans for the school were unveiled in February 2019.
St. Albert Public board chair Glenys Edwards said this replacement school (the construction cost of which has been pegged at $38.7 million) would add 300 new high school spots to the district, which are sorely needed.
“We’ve seen record-setting growth in our elementary schools over the last couple of years and those students will reach high school soon,” she said.
Crews started moving dirt on what was once a soccer field behind the current school building about three weeks ago, said Faizal Jiwani of Aman Builders, the company hired to build this new school. Residents should expect to see up to 80 people on site between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. digging trenches and laying pipes in the next few months, with walls and other structures likely to go up by January.
The finished building would be a two-storey, 14,000-square-meter affair with many windows, solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and a teepee-shaped breakout room, said building designer Dave MacGregor.
“The building is separated into various zones of learning,” he said, with CTS to the east, classrooms to the west, and the gym and science labs in the centre.
The school would also have a 350-seat theatre and a “college-sized” gym fit for large tournaments, said Paul Kane principal Erin Steele.
“It’s going to be great getting to a school that’s going to facilitate 21st century learning.”
Jiwani said crews would work closely with school staff to avoid disrupting classes, and asked students to stay outside the fenced construction zone for safety’s sake.
Steele said he would send students and parents weekly updates on the new school’s progress.
The new Paul Kane was scheduled to open in 2022.
