Kuujjuaq getting new $8-million school

Kuujjuaq is getting a second elementary school, which will relieve pressure on the nearby Jaanimmarik School.

“The 20,000 square foot school is built at the top of a slope on a round lot, thus the curved shape,” said Debbie Astroff, spokesperson for the Kativik Regional School Board. “It’s a great vantage point to see the river and the community. The new school is not more than 10 minutes walking distance from Jaanimmarik School.”

Construction started on the $8-million school last summer, and it’s expected that it will be ready in September, 2004.

The two-storey school is designed by Brian Faubert of the Val d’Or architectural firm, Monette, Leclerc, St-Denis and Associates. When the school is finished, it will house a gymnasium, library, computer room, language lab, a small room for administration and 15 classrooms.

The school will serve about 210 students, from Kindergarten to Grade 3.

“Walls, floors, washrooms and the exterior will be decorated with primary colours to make the school especially appealing to little children,” Astroff said.

Windows on both sides of the main floor will have stained glass designs.

Astroff said for the first time in any KSB construction projects, fibreglass siding will be used for the exterior finish.

The small building to the left of Jaanimmarik School, which currently serves kindergarten students, will be used as an arts and culture centre for students.

Meanwhile, students in Kuujjuaraapik will have to wait until September, 2006 until they have a new school to replace the Asimautaq School, which burned down last December.

Students are now housed in a temporary facility near the airport, which was also used temporarily by Cree students after their school burned down.

When it’s finally built, the new school for KSB students may not be rebuilt in the same location. According to several residents, the former school was built on a site where an infant had been buried, and, following the fire, some feel the place carries a heavy legacy.