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Sod turning ceremony held for new Fireside Catholic School

“It’s absolutely an exciting time for Cochrane and for Calgary Catholic,” Martin said. “It’s really important for Calgary Catholic. We want to ensure that all of our municipalities are well served. When we get a school in a growing municipality like Cochrane it’s really exciting.”
SodTurning_June4-21
Calgary Catholic School District hosted a celebration Friday (June 4) to bless the ground and turn the sod for the new Fireside Catholic School. Submitted Photo

COCHRANE— Calgary Catholic School District hosted a celebration Friday (June 4) to bless the ground and turn the sod for a new Catholic School in Cochrane.

Calgary Catholic Board Chair Mary Martin attended the ceremony and said it was a wonderful experience seeing the Fireside Catholic School break ground.

“We’re so grateful for this really critical piece of infrastructure that will serve Cochrane really well for years to come,” Martin said. “It’s exciting to see the building actually coming to light and fruition. You can see the cinder block up and a lot of work being done.”

The event included Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Infrastructure Prasad Panda, Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie, Mayor Jeff Genung, Calgary Catholic Superintendent Bryan Szumlas, Trustee Myra D’Souza and Father Dennis Vavrek of St. Mary’s Church.

To adhere to COVID-19 public health measures and outdoor gatherings caps a small group of students from Holy Spirit School were able to provide a special prerecorded performance that will be shared with the community at a later date.

The new school will be located at 150 Fireside Parkway and will serve as the new home for staff and students at Holy Spirit School.

The new school was necessitated as Calgary Catholic’s lease for the current school site, Holy Spirit School, expires in 2023.

The school has been a priority for Calgary Catholic for several years and became a vital piece of infrastructure with the lease with Rocky View Schools nearing an end.

“The time had come for us to be able to support our own population, and we recognized Rocky Views bursting population as well,” Martin said. “The need is urgent in Cochrane.”

The $16 million new facility will be able to accommodate up to 815 students from Kindergarten to Grade 9. It includes a full core to the building with 12 modulars attached. Martin added the population of the school is designed to increase over time.

Martin said given the difficult provincial budget and the work taking place to recover from the economic fallout of COVID-19, the board is grateful the school was able to break ground with support from Alberta Education.

Funding for the structure was initially announced in November 2019 and it will open its doors to the community in fall 2022.

The Fireside School is Calgary Catholics School District's only build currently. The district includes Calgary, Cochrane, Airdrie and Chestermere.

The Calgary Catholic School District is in a unique situation because it spans four growing municipalities with urgent needs, Martin said. This has resulted in advocacy centred on accommodating young and growing populations.

“It will be a continuing need for advocacy for Calgary Catholic to support these newer, younger communities so we can have schools where our kids are,” Martin said. “The pressure is substantial.”

Each school is unique to Calgary Catholic and it will be exciting to see the culture of Fireside School emerge once it can open its doors to the community, Martin said.

Having appropriately sized classrooms with terrific teachers is an important need in these communities and directly impacts the quality of life for families.

“From the minute that school is announced, the leadership of the school is announced and as you get closer to the opening the parents are invited to name the school and that is a really exciting process,” Martin said. “It’s a really important piece in starting to create that culture that tends to survive over the years.”

The naming of the school will involve the parish, families and the school council.

Calgary Catholic takes pride in creating high-quality learning spaces on or before deadlines and on or under budget, she said. Martin is confident the school will be ready for students on time and will be a visually stunning facility.

“It’s absolutely an exciting time for Cochrane and for Calgary Catholic,” Martin said. “It’s really important for Calgary Catholic. We want to ensure that all of our municipalities are well served. When we get a school in a growing municipality like Cochrane it’s really exciting.”

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