It was moving day at Neerlandia last week, as students and staff at Neerlandia Public Christian School (NPCS) — along with a number of Pembina Hills maintenance staff and parent volunteers — moved into their new replacement school.
The provincial government first announced in the spring of 2013 that Neerlandia would be getting a new school to replace their 72-year-old building, which was showing significant signs of wear and tear.
After breaking ground in the summer of 2014, construction on the new K-9 school proceeded at a quick pace, finally finishing late this fall. The projected move-in date was Dec. 15.
The move into the new building occurred nearly a year ahead of schedule, as it was originally set to take place in the fall of 2016.
Principal Lisa Gehring said the plan was to have the move mostly completed before the Christmas holidays so they can hit the ground running in January, which is generally the most productive month in terms of school work.
“It’s amazing how much is done already,” she commented on Wednesday afternoon, as students and Pembina Hills employees moved desks, tables and other equipment into the classrooms.
Of course, with any move, there were still some kinks to work out, such as missing doors and some faulty systems.
Gehring thanked the parents and volunteers from Rock Solid Concrete Products who came to help with the move.
Currently, Neerlandia Public Christian School has an enrolment of about 175 students. According to Alberta Infrastructure’s website, the new school will eventually have the capacity to house 300 students.
