New P-3 schools get ready to welcome students

It’s almost time for Regina kids to head back to school, and some students are getting brand new spaces to learn.

The P-3 schools in Regina are set to welcome students for the first time on Tuesday.

One of the three joint schools opening up consists of École St. Elizabeth and École Wascana Plains School, which is located in the Greens neighbourhood.

École St. Elizabeth is about 4,750 square metres.

One of the key design features in the new school is the open-floor plan and flexibility within the classrooms.

Many of the rooms have movable desks and different types of seating to appeal to the many different kinds of students.

“Not all students learn the same, not all teachers teach the same but at the end of the day there should be enough opportunity for them all to succeed in this environment,” said Rodd Hoffart, superintendent of facilities at Regina Catholic.

Each of the schools has their own gyms, music rooms, classrooms and an outdoor learning area as well.

Some of the classrooms also have large garage doors between them, which can be opened so that teachers can work together when teaching.

The washrooms no longer have assigned genders and sinks are no longer in a room of their own.

Another major addition to the schools is the new technology that will be included in the schools, including laptops and speakers and microphones for the teachers.

“The building was made for technology and so it’s a little bit more geared towards that,” said Daniel Lizee, principal of École St. Elizabeth.

Lizee was the principal at St. Andrews, where many of the students also went before coming to the new school.

“Teaching is all about relationships so having that relationship and moving over and knowing the students is a great opportunity.”

St. Elizabeth is expecting about 415 kids when school opens Tuesday.