After several delays, the new Fireside School opened its doors to staff and students on Nov. 14.
All 357 students, who were crammed into portables behind Mitford School, are finally settling into a permanent location and enjoying the first day of a stable location.
Thomas Elbel, Fireside School principal, said the transition day was mostly smooth.
“The day went really well, our parents and students were amazing in the morning when students were brought to school,” he said.
The school held an assembly where they practised their new school cheer as well as competed in a couple of fun minute-to-win-it challenges.
Due to construction issues, the original Sept. 15 opening date set by Rocky View Schools (RVS) for communities south of the Bow River, including Fireside and Rolling Range Estates, was set back to Nov. 14.
Susan Brauss, a parent of a Grade 4 student and co-chair of the school’s parent council, said her daughter was ecstatic to start and is looking forward to having more space in her new classroom.
“They have a rather big class, I think there are 29 or even 32 kids now. They also have a support dog in their classroom and the portables (were) small,” she said, adding that she thinks the staff and the principal did a wonderful job to make it a good time for the students while in the portables.
The council already has big plans lined up for this school year, Brauss said.
“We’ve had three-hour meetings – longer than we want to but there’s so much to do and so many opportunities,” she said. “It’s a blank slate so we’re very excited about trying to get it going.”
In the works are a fun lunch planned for January along with the typical council set ups, Brauss said.
One of the most anticipated aspects is the new all-inclusive playground, which has yet to be installed and was slated at an estimated cost of $400,000 in August.
“Everybody’s just very enthusiastic and we thank our board, our principal and the staff,” Brauss said.
