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Spring Creek Elementary won’t open until after Christmas

Third delay means crowded conditions at Myrtle Philip will continue The opening of Spring Creek Elementary has been delayed for the third time.

Third delay means crowded conditions at Myrtle Philip will continue

The opening of Spring Creek Elementary has been delayed for the third time.

Students will now start attending the new facility after the Christmas break instead of next week as previously scheduled.

"That decision was made late on Thursday when the people from here and the architects had a meeting with the contractor and it became apparent that we were not going to make it in on Nov. 5," said interim superintendent of schools for the Howe Sound School District Dallas Cristofoli.

The board received a letter last week from the contractor asking for a delay until near the end of November.

Faced with that and the previous two delays Cristofoli said the school board decided to choose a date they believed was realistic for everyone to reach.

It is also hoped that this delay will allow the contractor enough time to finish the gymnasium, which would not have been completed by next week anyway.

"The gymnasium is quite far behind and initially we said, ‘well, we will just live without that gymnasium for a bit,’" said Cristofoli.

"But the more we thought about installing the gym floors, which involved glues, solvents and paints, and the more we thought about the odours in that school, the more we thought it would be better done when the students are not in the building."

The weather last week didn’t help the situation, with several key contracting workers unable to make it from their Pemberton and Squamish homes due to highway washouts and flooding.

However, even before the floods there were serious concerns about whether the school could open on time raised at Myrtle Philip’s last Parent Advisory Council meeting.

"It was a safety concern in the end," said Cristofoli.

"If we could have done it safely we probably would have gone ahead."

The same sentiments were echoed by Spring Creek Parent Advisory Council chair Barb Leigh.

"I think there has been some concern that we were moving in and it really wasn’t ready," she said.

"The reality is that it is not a safe environment for the kids.

"And we are working very hard to get the playground finished and we can’t get the playground finished if they haven’t finished the site work."

The delay is disappointing, said Leigh, but not unexpected.

The school-within-a-school system is working for now in Myrtle Philip although there are concerns about the primary aged kids in the portables.

"A lot of us hoped that it would happen because certainly for a lot of the younger grades, which are in the portables, it is difficult," said Leigh.

"We have not had younger kids in the portables. It has always been intermediate kids, so to have our primary kids in the portables that is a strain for the kids.

"And when the snows falls, as it will in November and December, it’s not going to be pleasant trudging out there. It is a long way to the bathrooms, it is a long way to get a drink of water, so it is not an ideal situation for our primary kids."

Myrtle Philip principal Ron Albertin acknowledges there are challenges with having both schools operating out of his facility.

"But it is going well," he said.

"Obviously we are all disappointed (at the delay).

"I think the students are ready to move on and start in the new school and we are ready to start new here too, so it is disappointing. But we sort of anticipated it so it is not a surprise."

The schools will continue to work together for the most part although each school will celebrate this year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies separately as the organizing is already well under way.

And some student leadership programs at Myrtle Philip, which were being put off until after the move, are now going to go ahead.

"We are all still one here and we will just keep operating as we have been," said Albertin.

"I know Spring Creek is looking forward to it. But, on the other hand, we don’t want them go if it is not ready for them because that would be disastrous, and you don’t want to be spending all your time worrying about the building instead of worrying about the education of the kids."

Spring Creek parents got their first glimpse of the school this week at a walkabout Tuesday evening. Most were very impressed by the modern school which has incorporated many sustainable practices in heating, lighting and other services.

Some voiced concern over the small areas allotted for storage of kids coats and backpacks and the fact that Kindergarten students have to walk downstairs to get to their classrooms,

But concerns were mostly outweighed by the fact that Kindergarten kids get their own door to the playground.

"They seemed very pleased with what they saw and very impressed with the facility as a whole," said Spring Creek principal Linda Watson.

"It really is a school that they have done a lot of research on and we are very fortunate to be the recipients of such a wonderful school.

"We were a little disappointed that we couldn’t get in on Nov. 5th but we need to have it safe for students, that really is the bottom line.

"The facility is top notch all the way. We are going to have a full gym, a full computer lab, a library, a multi-purpose room… it really is a showcase facility."

Meanwhile the nominations for the by-election of the school trustee in Pemberton closed today.

The election will be held on Dec. 6. Betty Connell resigned her post in September due to ill health.

And it’s likely the school district will know who the new school superintendent will be next week after an exhaustive process by the school board.

Cristofoli said the new superintendent would likely take up the post after Christmas.