April 9, 2004
Kuujjuaq getting new
$8-million school
Two-storey building
will open September, 2004
JANE
GEORGE
Kuujjuaq's
new school is expected to be ready by September, 2004, and will serve about
210 students, from Kindergarten to Grade 3. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE KATIVIK SCHOOL
BOARD)
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Kuujjuaq is getting a second
elementary school, which will relieve pressure on the nearby Jaanimmarik School.
"The 20,000 square
foot school is built at the top of a slope on a round lot, thus the curved shape,"
said Debbie Astroff, spokesperson for the Kativik Regional School Board. "It's
a great vantage point to see the river and the community. The new school is
not more than 10 minutes walking distance from Jaanimmarik School."
Construction started on
the $8-million school last summer, and it's expected that it will be ready in
September, 2004.
The two-storey school is
designed by Brian Faubert of the Val d'Or architectural firm, Monette, Leclerc,
St-Denis and Associates. When the school is finished, it will house a gymnasium,
library, computer room, language lab, a small room for administration and 15
classrooms.
The school will serve about
210 students, from Kindergarten to Grade 3.
"Walls, floors, washrooms
and the exterior will be decorated with primary colours to make the school especially
appealing to little children," Astroff said.
Windows on both sides of
the main floor will have stained glass designs.
Astroff said for the first
time in any KSB construction projects, fibreglass siding will be used for the
exterior finish.
The small building to the
left of Jaanimmarik School, which currently serves kindergarten students, will
be used as an arts and culture centre for students.
Meanwhile, students in
Kuujjuaraapik will have to wait until September, 2006 until they have a new
school to replace the Asimautaq School, which burned down last December.
Students are now housed
in a temporary facility near the airport, which was also used temporarily by
Cree students after their school burned down.
When it's finally built,
the new school for KSB students may not be rebuilt in the same location. According
to several residents, the former school was built on a site where an infant
had been buried, and, following the fire, some feel the place carries a heavy
legacy.
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