MEDICINE HAT, AB — After 100 years of operating as a learning centre, Riverside School will be closing it’s doors.
June 30th will be the last day that Riverside School will house students. Students will be transferred to Vincent Massey School at the start of the new school year.
Rick Missini, Chair of the Public School Board, said the decision to close the school was an agreement made with the Ministry of Education after the approval of new school, Dr. Ken Sauer.
“We had a growing population over at the northeast part of the city and so we wanted a school in that area,” he said.
Riverside School has very low enrollment of just over 100 students and he said it has “outlived its purpose” as it is expensive to maintain.
There have been talks of Riverside closing for a few years while the board was debating whether or not to open up Dr. Ken Sauer.
Sherri Hendricks, Principle at Riverside School and Vincent Massey said, “we were all hoping that it wasn’t going to be built, but it is.”
She said students and staff are sad to leave Riverside School as it has a big community feel.
“Our kids all walk to school and so parents are in our building all the time, kids are in our building all the time, a true community school feel.”
However, parents and students have been invited to visit Vincent Massey School to get acquainted with their new school. Hendricks said Vincent Massey is opening their arms to them.
“It’s more students, but it’s a wonderful school,” she said. “It has awesome parents too, the teachers are phenomenal as well and they are very excited to have us.”
Teachers at Riverside School will be transferred to other schools around the city.
