Thursday March 12, 2020 ~ LANGFORD
by Mary Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
New names for the two new SD62 schools in West Langford are Pexsisen Elementary School (K to Gr 5) and Centre Mountain Lellum Middle School (Grades 6 to 8).
The names were announced this afternoon in an event held in the Commons area of Belmont Secondary School in Langford.
An evening event for tonight — to which the public was invited — was cancelled mid-day, in response to public health concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic; BC Health says all gatherings of over 250 people are to be postponed or cancelled until otherwise advised, as a way of helping to contain community spread.
With actual construction of the two schools yet to begin at the Constellation Drive location at the corner of West Shore Parkway in Westhills (in West Langford), the schools are scheduled to open for September 2022. Land clearing is still underway, probably into October of this year. Construction is set to begin in earnest this fall, using the services of local contractors and trades wherever possible.
The two-storey elementary school will accommodate 500 students and the three-storey middle school will accommodate 700 students, it was announced by SD62 Superintendent Scott Stinson today at the event. Stinson was excited to describe how the middle school has its glass-walled gymnasium as a central focus, a science space, wood shop, band and choral space, and rooftop teaching space. The open staircase can be used as an amphitheatre. The elementary school has a Neighbourhood Learning Space with room for an on-site child care center.
“This is an exciting day,” said Stinson, who is glad the schools no longer need to be referred to as just ‘west Langford schools’ or ‘the schools in Westhills’. Although, he did say that the 16-acre site on Constellation Avenue “is not without challenges and difficulties”. That would be mainly in reference to the land leveling process which has been underway for months.
Stinson recognized former SD62 Jim Cambridge who was instrumental over many years in moving along the SD62 facilities file and building the capital planning momentum for the growing school district.
The addition of two new schools has necessitated a catchment boundary review, to which there has already been some public input. Stinson explained how the complex rearrangement of which neighbourhood areas feed into which schools includes consideration of flow through a ‘family’ of schools, so that students carry on from Kindergarten through Grade 12 with their peers at the same set of elementary, middle and secondary schools.
SD62 Board Chair Ravi Parmar said “a case is being made to the province” for more school sites and construction. “We could probably open another school in September 2022,” said Parmar, with reference to accommodating the burgeoning school population that is driven by families seeking the opportunities for relatively affordable housing in the west shore area.
These school successes “speaks to the will of the community”, said Parmar, mentioning both SD62 staff and officials at local municipalities. They are “the most amazing staff who drop everything to make sure we’re a priority and that we can build these schools as quickly as we can.” said the SD62 Chair.
Parmar said that “reconciliation is not an easy thing”, with reference to both schools now bearing Indigenous names.
Pexsisen (pronounced Puxx/See/Sung) for the elementary school means ‘opening of hands’ or ‘having one’s hands wide open’. Centre MountainLellum (pronounced Lay/Lum) for the middle school means ‘a house and idea of community, where we raise our children’.
Beecher Bay Chief Russ Chipps was clearly pleased with the name choices. “SD62 is the best school district on the island, it’s number one in my books!” he said at the podium. He says SD62 is where “our communities have come together” and that the communities of the region are beginning to now “grow and work together”.
About 50 school district, municipal and other community leaders were in attendance for the one-hour event. All the while, about three classes of high school students matter-of-factly carried on with their studies in the same large commons area.
A brief slide show introduced the new school designs and the meanings of the school names. The school designs are in cool tones, in a boxy architectural style.
Attending today’s event were former SD62 Superintendent Jim Cambridge, SD62 Associate Superintendent Stephanie Hedley-Smith, SD62 Superintendent Scott Stinson, Beecher Bay Elder Henry Chipps, SD62 Vice-Chair Bob Beckett, Beecher Bay Chief Russ Chipps, SD62 Chair Ravi Parmar, SD62 Trustee Allison Watson, SD62 Secretary-Treasurer Harold Cull, SD62 Trustee Wendy Hobbs, SD62 Associate Superintendent Dave Strange, Project Manager Alex Samousevitch, District Principal of Capital Projects Windy Beadall, and Associate Superintendent Paul Block.
Representing the City of Langford at today’s event were Councillors Wendy Hobbs, Matt Sahlstrom, and Norma Stewart.
Attending on behalf of the Premier’s Langford-Juan de Fuca Constitutency office was Shannon Russell.
More schools are needed in SD62 because the area of Langford, Colwood, Sooke, Highlands, Juan de Fuca (East Sooke, and out to Port Renfrew) and parts of View Royal has the fastest-growing school population per capita in all of BC. Chair Parmar said this is the first time two schools have been built at the same time.
The student population is growing by several hundred per year. For the 2020-2021 academic year the expected influx is presently 412 more students. Almost 900 students are registered for Kindergarten for the September 2020 start.
Associate Superintendent Paul Block consults regularly with the local municipalities as to housing development forecasts as a way to determine school population projects.
The last day of school before spring break is tomorrow, Friday March 13. A celebration including more indigenous representation and the broader SD62 community will be held in the weeks or months ahead, after COVID-19 event restrictions are lifted.