By Denise Bacon
St-Michel French Catholic Elementary School at 29 Meadowvale Road will be expanding. The Ontario government has committed an investment of $2.4 million to St-Michel, which will support the creation of 92 student spaces. The current capacity of the school is 250 students.
Principal Caroline Sodhi said that St-Michel is planning to introduce four new classrooms. There has been an increased number of student enrollments over the years and this is the reason the MonAvenir French Catholic School Board presented the expansion project to the Ministry of Education.
The Board received the funding in late 2021 and will start the tender process for the project, which will include design, site plan and the overall project plan. Once this initial phase is complete, tendering the project to a contractor will take place. The expansion includes a two-storey addition at the back of the school,
Madam Sodhi and the staff are pleased and excited about this investment and all its prospects. St-Michel is currently working on its student recruitment strategies for 2022 and there is hope that students will return to in-class learning.
Enrollment prior to the pandemic was growing, but during these uncertain times many students are studying online. The addition of more teachers and staff members is dependent upon the number of students and cohorts (classes) in the school, so planning for the 2022 school year and beyond is a work in progress.
“There is a high level of interest in registering at St-Michel,” said Madam Sodhi, “since more and more francophone families are choosing to settle in Scarborough. We are very pleased that the ministry has funded this expansion as it will help meet the needs of a growing school community.”