Work on St. Albert’s newest school officially kicked off this week with the help of some spade-work by its namesake.
Retired St. Albert Public board trustee Joe Demko joined local dignitaries to dig dirt Wednesday as part of the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Joseph M. Demko School.
Under construction in a frozen, muddy field in Jensen Lakes west of the Walmart, this $16 million project was first announced in October 2014. When finished, the two-storey structure will house about 900 K-to-9 students.
The school is set to open September 2018, but that will only happen if a lot of work happens this spring, said board superintendent Barry Wowk.
Most of the school’s students will come from Jensen Lakes, although the actual boundaries for the school will depend on how fast that neighbourhood grows, Wowk said. The school will also host the city’s 300-some Logos Christian Education Program students.
The province announced last October that Demko School would get up to $750,000 to put solar panels on its roof. Public board treasurer Michael Brenneis said the board was still waiting on the province to make a final decision on these funds, and expected to get an answer by the end of the month.
St. Albert Public’s student population is on the rise, and the space provided by this school is dearly needed, Demko said. He said he was glad to see that crews had already driven many pilings into the ground for the school, and was confident that it would be finished on schedule.
“I joked with the superintendent that if I die before the school’s done, I hope you put my ashes in one of the corner stones!”
St. Albert students and parents will hear a powerful message on bullying next week from a Calgary cop.
Calgary Police Service Const. Tad Milmine is giving two free talks to St. Albert and Sturgeon County residents next week at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre. Some 600 students from six Sturgeon School Division schools, including Sturgeon Heights, are set to hear him speak.
Milmine is the founder of Bullying Ends Here, a national anti-bullying organization.
Morinville Public School vice-principal Kerri Trombley said she heard Milmine speak at a fundraiser and was inspired to invite him to Morinville.
“He inspires people to be better people,” she said, and she hoped his words would leave students feeling empowered to make a difference.
Milmine said his talk addresses bullying through the story of his life and that of Jamie Hubley, an Ottawa youth who committed suicide in 2011 due to bullying.
Milmine said he grew up with an abusive step-mother who for about 12 years confined him to the basement whenever he was home. Gay and extremely introverted, he would often feel sad and ashamed and suffer uncontrollable bouts of crying.
“For me, going to school wasn’t any better than being at home in the basement,” he said, as bullies would often physically and verbally assault him.
“While this was going on, I never once reached out because I truly believed I was the only person this was happening to.”
Milmine ran away from home at 17 and sought help from social services, realizing his lifelong dream of becoming a cop at 32. When he heard about Hubley’s death, he said he became determined to do all he could to keep others from going through what he did as a child.
Today, he speaks about bullying across Canada and the world, and answers some 1,200 emails a month from youths who reach out to him for help with bullying.
Milmine said his message to students was to recognize that they are not alone, and that there are people around who want to help.
“Give us a chance. We will be there for them.”
The free talk for parents is from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. The student talk is Friday from 1 to 2 p.m. Call Trombley at 780-939-3445 for details.
