Local residents will get a chance to learn about what’s happening at the former Georges P. Vanier School next Monday night, Nov. 16.
An information meeting is set to take place at 6 p.m. at La Girouette Community Centre at 150 King St. W. in downtown Chatham.
Conseil scolaire Viamonde will be opening a school of its own on the Vanier site on Cecile Avenue.
Expected to house about 215 students in classes from kindergarten to Grade 8, the target date for opening is next September.
Built in 1967, the facility will undergo renovations and modernization over the coming months to transform it into a welcoming Viamonde elementary school designed to meet the needs of today’s students, Viamonde officials said in a media release.
Along with seven classrooms, the school will feature a gym, library and office spaces for student support services and administration.
Board officials said they will also seek government funding to allow for French-language childcare services in the future.
“The opening of our first school in Chatham marks an important milestone for Viamonde and, above all, is wonderful news for Francophone families in the region. We thank the Ontario Ministry of Education for its financial contribution to this project. We are thrilled at the prospect of bringing the Viamonde experience, whose excellence is already recognized across the province, to students in the Chatham community,” said Benoit Fortin, chair of Conseil scolaire Viamonde, in a news release.
