Westmount Park students, staff cope with changes as school year begins

As Grade 6 student Anne Onjuru was getting ready for her first day back at school, she said she was feeling a bit stressed out. Alongside her classmates, she is moving to a new building in a different neighbourhood in Montreal for her last year in elementary.

“I’m excited but I’m also nervous,” she said. “I’m nervous because this is a new environment for me. I have never been to this school.”

As the academic year begins, students like Onjuru at Westmount Park Elementary School are being temporarily housed in two different buildings. In January, the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) announced a major two-year renovation blitz for the school which required students to be relocated.

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As part of the project, students will attend Marymount Academy in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and the former St. John Bosco Elementary in Ville Émard for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years.

Mike Cohen, spokesperson for the board, said the shuffle to the new buildings went well — mostly due to teachers and staff who were devoted to getting things ready in time.

In Ville Émard, the building was in good shape but required extensive cleaning, painting and waxing since the former school hadn’t been used since it closed in 2012, he added.

“Everything went seamlessly,” he said. “It was a lot of work.”

“Our staff worked overtime right up to the weekend to get the building ready.”

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While parents voiced concerns about splitting up students when the move was first announced, Cohen said the Westmount Park Elementary School desperately needs renovations. The $12-million overhaul of the building, which was built in 1913, will fix major structural issues.

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“A lot of work needs to be done,” said Cohen. “It pretty much needs to be gutted.”

While the move went well, some teachers who shifted to Ville Émard admitted they weren’t sure what to expect. Grade 6 teacher Sorina Chis described the move as hard work, but said it was rewarding to see it all come together in time for the new school year.

“I was most nervous about starting in a new space, an unfamiliar building,” she said, adding she was thrilled with how it turned out.

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Melanie Dignard, who teaches Grade 1, said it was a “big disaster” when they started out, but that staff is spoiled in terms of size and location of their new building. As students arrived on Tuesday, Dignard said she saw mostly happy faces.

“We were pleasantly surprised,” she said.

For Onjuru, the first day ended up going well in spite of all the changes. She said when she got to school, she was excited to see her friends and teachers.

“I’m looking forward to learning new things, making new friends,” she said.

— With files from Global News’ Phil Carpenter