While students and teachers in Holy Trinity Catholic School Division have enjoyed their summer vacation, division maintenance staff have been hard at work upgrading several school buildings.
Matt Heisler, the division’s buildings manager, spoke to trustees during their August board meeting about the projects his team has pursued this summer. Most renovations occurred in Moose Jaw, while others took place in Swift Current and Assiniboia.
St. Margaret School
Maintenance staff applied a new coat of paint to interior doors, the gym, and exterior siding, while the wood around the windows was refurbished since it was falling apart, said Heisler.
A notable change is that the department removed all the pea gravel from the playground and replaced it with wood carpet fibre. This fibre, Heisler continued, is inexpensive compared to pea gravel — $8 per cubic yard versus $45 per cubic yard — and can’t be used to break windows, unlike pea gravel, which has been used to break 15 windows over the years.
The wood carpet fibre is denser than gravel, which means students running around won’t kick out as much of the material as with gravel, he added.
Sacred Heart School
The project to enhance Sacred Heart School started to keep the department’s summer students busy, but the initiative turned into “a good little project,” said Heisler. This included upgrading the wooden window frames, which were peeling and in rough shape, and painting the exterior blue.
“I’m very, very pleased we’re still maintaining these facilities with some semblance of pride because we’re there for a while yet (until the new joint-use school is built),” trustee Derek Hassen said.
These improvements are important since parents don’t want to send their children to schools that look bad, agreed Heisler. Furthermore, regardless of whether this school is closed or remains open, residents will drive by and wonder how the division maintains its properties.
Another project was developing a new lawn in front of the school since it had turned into a muddy pit because of an infrastructure initiative several years ago, he continued. Furthermore, caretakers were frustrated with keeping the hallways clean after students ran through the mess outside.
Four picnic benches were added to that area, while there are plans to turn that section into an outdoor classroom. The department plans to re-seed and fence off that area next spring so the grass can grow.
Vanier Collegiate
Nearly $500,000 worth of upgrades have been made to Vanier Collegiate’s Industrial Arts (IA) lab, said Heisler. For example, the buildings department replaced a dust collection unit with a standalone unit that isn’t hooked into the rest of the school. This project should be completed by September, including all the electrical components.
Another addition is a new CNC wood lathe, which uses a computer to help guide the device when creating objects, Heisler said. Vanier is the only high school in Moose Jaw to have such a machine, while the potential exists for students to program the device for more than just woodworking.
St. Agnes School
The buildings department constructed a new retaining wall at the school, which was a big project but well worth it, Heisler said. That project is being completed in conjunction with St. Joseph Catholic Parish and should be finished soon.
The department also removed large rocks from the property to protect the health and safety of students, he continued. Many students played on the rocks and broke bones, chipped teeth and banged their heads.
“Now all the large rocks are at the division office,” Heisler stated, including one rock that is 40,000 pounds. The department also removed a pergola since it was falling apart and unsafe.
The next Holy Trinity board meeting is Monday, Sept. 20.
