tawâw School opens in Regina’s north end, 470 students welcomed

A newly built school in Regina’s north end is already leaving a positive impact on students.

Zemal Hoorain is a Grade 8 student and was attending the former Imperial school. Walking the halls of her new school, she feels like she can finally breathe.

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“(At the old school) If I was having a bad day, the colour of the building, the environment, would make me feel even more suffocated, sunken down and numb,” she said.

“Over here, I feel like I can breathe and talk to people and express myself. There’s so much room. And when I come to school, when I’m having a bad day, everything looks bright. Everything tells me, yeah, my day can be brightened as well.”

The tawâw School mascot is a turtle, featured in artwork on the wall. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

The school is also celebrating a milestone; it’s Regina’s first school with an Indigenous name.

The tawâw School is a joint-use elementary school. tawâw comes from a Cree word meaning “come in, you’re welcome; there’s room.”

The school unites four former elementary schools—two public and two Catholic—into one modern building featuring updated classrooms, a shared community space and a child care centre with capacity for 51 children.

tawâw comes from a Cree word meaning “come in, you’re welcome; there’s room.” (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

The public side opened at the start of the school year. Construction on the Catholic side is nearly complete and is expected to wrap up in January 2026.

Once finished, the joint school will accommodate up to 1,000 students, roughly 500 in each program.

Hoorain said the school opens a lot of opportunities for students and that the staff are very supportive.

“Our potential is not buried underneath,” she said. “It’s pretty amazing to see how far we have come, and to see how far our education has come.”

The new school features upgraded classrooms, a shared community space and a child care centre with capacity for 51 children. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Ryker Harding is also a Grade 8 student from the former Imperial School.

Harding said he feels heard in the newer classrooms and that incorporating Indigenous culture into the school is part of the reason.

“I feel like it’s just a better way to touch base with the land and communicate with people, and there’s just a lot more variety.

Adam Hicks, board chair of Regina Public Schools, said the school feels like a “breath of fresh air,” where students have room to function and grow since the school is not over capacity. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Adam Hicks, board chair of Regina Pubic Schools, said the new facility was long overdue.

“When you get a building that is past its usable life, that’s where it becomes a risk to students if something happens,” he said.

“We are so glad that the ministry saw a need for this community, not only that, but to combine two communities.”

He said combining the two schools—only a few blocks apart—allows for “more efficiencies” with the school division.

tawâw School’s principal shows off the tiny door for students. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

The neighbouring schools had some friendly rivalries, so the principals worked hard to amalgamate the students together before the new school year.

“I know the principals worked hard, even last year, they did an entire week where the two schools were brought together to learn, to work together and to talk about the new name of the school.”

He said day one went off without a hitch and now the students all represent their school’s mascot, which is a turtle.

Hicks said the school is at capacity and enrollment is at 470; he expects this number to fluctuate but stay around the 500 mark.

The Government of Saskatchewan contributed a total of $63.3 million towards the building’s construction, while the City of Regina provided $4.5 million to fund the community space.

The tawâw School will accommodate roughly 1,000 students when construction on the Catholic side is complete. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Importance of Indigenous representation

According to Hicks, there are 27,000 students in the Regina Public Schools as of fall 2025, and around 18-19 per cent—or 5,000 students— self-identify as Indigenous.

“When students feel like they belong, no matter what culture or background they are, and you know that the teachers and staff care for you and that you have a human who believes in you, and you can see yourself in that school, kids will do better,” he said.

“It makes sense to wrap our arms around those students and ensure that they feel welcome in a building that represents their culture and their background.”

Education Minister Everett Hindley said the school with an Indigenous name is important for Regina. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Education Minister Everett Hindley echoes Hicks’ comments, saying that a lot of work has been done to incorporate Indigenous culture into the school.

“I think it’s important that we do honour our Indigenous partners, and we’re grateful for their collaboration to make sure that as we’re building these new facilities, it honours that history and those traditions and incorporates it into the school for all of the students, regardless of whether they’re Indigenous or non Indigenous,” Hindley said.

Update on future Harbour Landing School

Hicks said the Harbour Landing School was supposed to be built a number of years ago, saying there have been several frustrations between the city, province and the school division about the delays.

He said it was announced back in 2020 and the projected deadline is now 2027.

“But in Harbour Landing, we have 400 students right now being bused out of that school,” he said.

“And at Wascana Plains (school), and some of those schools, we’ve had to actually ship and move boundaries for a couple 100 kids as well in the east end.”

He said the Regina Pubic Schools have constantly shifted boundaries due to over-capacity in the southern areas of the city.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Gillian Massie