Students, staff and the entire community of Cornwall will benefit from the new kindergarten wing at Westwood Primary School, says Premier Robert Ghiz.
“When we officially welcomed kindergarten into the Island school system, we knew it was important to ensure schools had the capacity to respond to increasing enrollments in growing communities such as Cornwall,” said Premier Ghiz. “The expansion at the Westwood Primary School is another example of how our government is working with Islanders and schools to build a stronger school system across our one Island community.”
The newly expanded kindergarten wing officially opened today with all 120 kindergarten students in attendance along with representatives from the Government of Prince Edward Island, the Town of Cornwall and the Eastern School District.
The new kindergarten wing at Westwood Primary School includes 13 new classrooms, 11 dedicated to kindergarten and two regular classrooms to accommodate the growing school population. The total cost of the expansion is $2.8 million.
“With the transition of kindergarten into the school system, we recognized there would be a number of schools that would not have the capacity for the influx of new students. We knew that Westwood Primary was a school that would be getting a huge increase in its population,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Doug Currie. “Our Government moved quickly to construct a new addition to make sure there was enough room for quality learning inside a new kindergarten wing. This new expansion will give our youngest students the room and tools they need to discover a love of learning as soon as they enter the school system.”
During the grand opening events at the new Westwood Primary School, Premier Ghiz; Minister Currie; Minister Ron MacKinley, MLA for District 16, Cornwall-Meadowbank; Cornwall Mayor Patrick MacFadyen and Principal Charlotte Bryand participated in the official ribbon cutting ceremony and unveiling of a new cornerstone.
“The new classrooms are a welcome addition to Westwood Primary School,” said Principal Bryand. “This addition will give each kindergarten-aged student the chance to go to school and learn new things every day. This kindergarten wing is a wonderful learning space for our youngest students, it promotes a positive and healthy learning environment for both students and staff.”
For more information, visit www.edu.pe.ca/westwood.