Grade 6 and 7 students will be the first pupils to walk through the doors of H.S Grenda Middle School when it officially opens in September 2021.
The Central Okanagan school board approved enrolment plans for the new Lake Country school during a meeting last week.
The plan calls for only Grade 6 and 7 students to attend the school in its first year of operation, followed by Grade 8 students in the fall of 2022.
According to the district, the staggered enrollment plan will help minimize the disruption for students, giving them the opportunity to attend the new school for at least two years before transitioning to George Elliot Secondary.
In November, the Central Okanagan school board awarded a $27-million tender to Kelowna-based Maple Reinders Constructors to build the new middle school.
Once complete, the school will provide up to 600 new spaces for students and will be built on district-owned property south of George Elliot Secondary School.
“We’re excited to be doing this and have a local project that we can excel at,” said MRC construction manager Greg Schulte in late November.
“We’re excited to be getting this done for the students of Lake Country.”
During a board meeting in November, Central Okanagan secretary-treasurer Ryan Stierman said additional work such as road improvements and landscaping will bring the total project to $34.4 million.
“The difference in cost is that we will have consultants such as architects working on the project,” said Stierman. “There will also be extra costs associated with ground work and road improvements.”
Stierman said a neighbourhood learning centre also being built at the school is included in the final project cost.
“We do have a 3,200 square foot location that does have a kitchen and bathroom that’s currently part of the project design,” said Stierman
“We are currently working with the District of Lake Country to determine the usage of that site.”
The province said in February of 2018 the new school will help address enrollment pressure in Lake Country, which is currently running at 125 per cent capacity.
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