A replacement for the former W.J. Fricker Public School.is progressing according to plan.
The school closed its doors at the end of the 2019-20 school year and the rebuild will cost $17,580,000.
Near North District School Board (NNDSB) build committee members recently toured the site of the new elementary school being built at the location of the
See: WJ Fricker school coming down
Board Chair Jay Aspin and Build Committee members received an update from the Venasse Building Group site supervisor and were told that construction is progressing "on schedule and on budget."
The Ontario Ministry of Education has provided funding for the school, with additional funding provided by NNDSB to build a new JK-6 school, Child Care and EarlyON Child and Family Centre to replace W.J. Fricker Public School. Once complete, students from nearby E.W. Norman and E.T. Carmichael Public Schools will be relocated to the brand-new facility
All classrooms in the new school will feature very large windows providing natural light to the learning spaces. The childcare and kindergarten classroom windows will be installed at lower heights to allow the littlest learners the chance to look outside says a Board news release.
During the tour, sub-trade labourers were busily laying the last few courses of block walls and pouring the few remaining concrete floors. Once these critical steps are complete, roof construction will commence to seal the structure against the elements before the winter sets in.
“The new school on the former Fricker site completes the process of responding effectively to declining enrolment and modernization of facilities in all areas of North Bay, ensuring the students of the Near North are equipped to achieve their full potential,” Aspin said.
The Board will soon be establishing a renaming committee for the school which is scheduled to open to students in September 2023.
