MEDICINE HAT, AB — Schools across Medicine Hat let out for summer vacation on Thursday.
However, students and staff at Ecole St. Thomas d’Aquin will not be returning in the fall.
Thursday morning was the final day of classes for the 56-year-old school.
“Going into today knowing that this was our last day as a school community in this building was definitely bittersweet,” said Terry Kennedy, principal at St. Thomas.
In January, the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education voted to close the school at the end of the school year. The board cited a lack of growth among students in the single track French immersion program, and approximately $1.5 million needed in repairs.
Staff and students spent the morning remembering the school that felt like a tight-knit community.
“It’s a fun place, there’s lots of friendly people,” said Zach Wiens, who just finished Grade 5 at the school. “And the teachers, they’re always playing with you. There’s always someone here that will just come and give you a hug.”
“We have a great group of teachers, a fantastic group of students, and our families are amazing and supportive,” said Felicity Haldeman, who teaches Grades 2 and 3 at the school, in addition to being the music teacher.
The majority of students and teachers will be attending Ecole St. John Paul II School when it opens its doors in September. The school will be offering an English program alongside a French immersion program (St. Thomas was a French immersion school).
Haldeman says it will be important to create a new and welcoming community for students and staff immediately.
“A lot of dual track schools, with the English and the French, it’s kind of, you have the French side, and you have the English side, and it’s very apart,” she said. “I know what we’re going into is this sense of integration and community right off the bat.”
Many of the classrooms at the school were filled with boxes, ready to be transported to their new home.
While there’s excitement about attending St. John Paul II School, students and staff will also have many memories of their old school.
“My favourite memory was just walking into the school each year, and just running up to my friends and giving them big hugs because I missed them all summer,” said Wiens.
“Spending time with students over the lunch hour, getting to know them outside of classes, them getting to see me in maybe a different light, I think those are some of my favourite memories,” said Kennedy, who will be vice principal at the new school.
The first day of school is September 4th.
