BY NANCY KELLY
Kings County Advertiser/Register
While the majority of summer construction projects at Kings County schools will wrap up in time for the coming school year, students and staff at three elementary schools will start classes off-site.
Annapolis Valley Regional School Board (AVRSB) superintendent Margo Tait says upgrades at West Kings, Central Kings, Coldbrook District School (CDS), New Minas Elementary (NMES) and Glooscap Elementary School (GES) are close to being finished.
Over the summer months, W.K. had phase two of a roofing project completed, and interior work at C.K. included enhancements to tiling, radiators and casing. Exterior brick and siding work continues at C.K., but should be finished in the coming weeks, says Tait.
The gymnasium floor at Coldbrook was refinished over the summer, and wiring and lighting work is expected to continue into September.
“But none of that work will affect classes in any way,” says Tait.
Two paving projects will see the addition of a new student drop-off area at NMES and upgrades to the bus loop at GES.
Evangeline Middle School (EMS) is also getting a new parking lot and bus area at the front of the school. Tait says, before school starts, the portables will be moved from the rear to the side of the school to allow for construction to begin on the planned addition.
“Until that addition is complete, we still need the portables and we needed to make room for them during construction,” says Tait, hopeful work on the new parking and busing area at EMS will be finished by the time students head back to class.
More extensive renovations at Gaspereau Valley Elementary (GVES), Somerset and District School (SDES) and St. Mary’s Elementary School (SMES) in Aylesford are now underway and, so far, are on schedule. In order to allow for a timely completion of the projects, GVES students will attend L.E. Shaw School in Avonport for the first few months; students at SDES and SMES will head to Coldbrook and Dwight Ross Elementary School respectively. Parent information meetings explaining the logistics of the temporary relocations, expected to last until November, were held in June.
“All information was provided to parents at that time but, if someone is unclear about the process, they can call the individual school or contact the (AVRSB’s) transportation department for information on busing arrangements,” says Tait.
For the duration of the relocation, the schools will retain their regular phone numbers.
