There will be some changes for the Fort McMurray Public School District in the 2018/19 school year.
In May 2017, École McTavish Junior High announced they would be offering grades 7 through 12 and now Westwood Community High School and Composite High School will be following suit.
École McTavish will act as the primary location for the PEAK athletic program as well as the French Immersion site for secondary students in the District with Westwood Community High School being designated as the advanced placement courses site. Composite High School is getting a $29-million face lift and Frank Spragins will continue to operate as an Outreach School, which offers self-paced learning for Fort McMurray students.
Superintendent Doug Nicholls made the recommendations to reconfigure the schools in considering FMPSD’s addition of new schools Christina Gordon and Dave McNeilly and the building of the high school wing currently underway at École McTavish.
“The discussion of this possibility has been in our District and community for the last few years. Both schools are thriving with strong results in all programs and high satisfaction from students and parents,” said Superintendent Nicholls in a press release. “The board and I believe that strong tradition will continue when offering students in our community a six year program at all of our secondary school sites.”
Westwood has plans to implement a specialty academic program for junior high students to prepare them for high school and advanced placement courses. The junior high French Immersion program at École McTavish will expand to high school years. Both schools are gearing up for high school Career and Technology (CTS) and junior high courses (CTF) like woodworking, welding, small engines, and robotics, fine arts, and athletics programs.
“We are thrilled to extend our programming to include junior high students, so teachers and students can make connections earlier. We will work with our students and families for six years instead of three to serve our community well,” said Westwood Prinicipal, Cynthia Shelley.
“We have been hearing from families who wish to have a public school for junior high in the Thickwood area. We see this announcement as an opportunity to be able to offer technology option classes to grade 7-9 students in areas such as coding, virtual reality and Robotics. Earlier exposure to this programming means these students will have more time to learn and hone their technology skills as 21st Century learners.”
Scott Barr, Principal, École McTavish Junior High School is also excited about the extended programming.
“Our staff is energized by the prospect of having our students for a full six years. The ability to work with students until graduation is a unique experience, and we look forward to watching [our students] walk across the stage at graduation,” said Principal Barr.
“We are also excited to use the new facility. The construction is going very well and the students and the community will be impressed with the facility upon completion. Video animation and TV studio, cosmetology, recording studio, robotics/coding, RAP program, and so much more will be available for our students.”
Staff in both schools are already starting initial planning for a smooth transition for students. There will be questions raised after the holidays. FMPSD members can look for more communication from the District and the schools in the weeks ahead.
