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Schools ready for start

Administrators and teachers prepare to welcome children back

As students go back to class this week Powell River’s public schools are preparing for another year of instruction.

School enrolment around the district is down slightly, according to school district numbers, but Jay Yule, superintendent of schools for School District 47, said that while the number of currently enrolled students in the school district is down from last year it wasn’t unexpected. This year the school district has 2,031 students enrolled down from 2,141 last year. He said that this decrease in enrolment was due to a larger than usual number of students graduating last year. Kindergarten enrolment this year has remained steady.

Teachers, students and administrators at Grief Point Elementary School start the school year knowing that it will be the last time the school greets new students in September. According to school district officials, the construction of Westview Elementary School is on schedule and they expect the school to be finished in late November 2012 with plans to move the student body from Grief Point after winter holidays in January.

“If the school is not quite ready,” said Steve Hopkins, secretary treasurer of the district, “then we can wait on the move until next summer.”

Builders are finishing putting up drywall and painting the inside of the new school. By the end of September landscapers will have completed the public paths on the school grounds and they will have laid the playing fields’ sod, said Hopkins, “By the end of September it will look a lot more complete.”

Over at Brooks Secondary School, administration, teachers and staff have been preparing the past week for 250 new grade eight and grade nine students. The grade nine students are coming from Oceanview Middle School.

“We’re pretty excited,” said Kathy Rothwell, Brooks principal, “and they’re probably excited too, though maybe nervous.”

Teachers have been in for the past two days and the staff for the last week getting the school ready, explained Rothwell.

She added that at Brooks this year they will have a big section of the school for the grade eights and nines. The school has planned grade eight and nine orientation activities for the first day of school after the grade 10s, 11s and 12s leave at 10:30 am on September 4. “The grade eights and nines will have a mini-rotation of their timetables to familiarize themselves with the school and then we’ll have a barbecue,” said Rothwell.