On February 3rd, as the second semester gets underway, more than one thousand students will take their place in the new learning spaces at Quw’utsun Secondary School.
Cowichan Valley School District spokesperson Jeff Rowan says staff will move the supplies, textbooks and resources from the old school to QSS during the week of January 27th to 31st.
Rowan says the school is ready to accept students, though some final work still needs to be done.
“There will continue to be work fixing the deficiencies that have been identified, which is normal in new construction projects and there is still landscaping and tree planting to be done at the highway side of the school.”
He says students that are bussed to school will be dropped off and picked up at the new high school’s bus loop.
At over 70-years old, CSS is the oldest secondary school in the district and thousands of students have graduated from there in its more than seven decades of instruction.
In the decades since the post-war era when Cowichan Secondary was constructed education has changed and classrooms with rows of desks in front of the teacher have given way to more dynamic, student-centered learning environments.
As the design process began, the SD79 School Board established advisory groups and worked closely with Cowichan Tribes.
The partnerships created a Neighbourhood Learning Centre that not only serves the students at the school but also addresses critical community needs.
Cowichan Tribes emphasized the importance of an Indigenous Language and Culture Centre where Indigenous students will see their heritage and identity reflected in the learning environment.
The new seismically safe Quw’utsun Secondary School is designed with architectural features to complement the surroundings, and its grounds will have outdoor learning spaces.
The nearly 12-thousand square metre facility can hold 1100 students and has the ability to expand to 1500 students with the addition of new classrooms.
The Cowichan Valley School District decided to change the spelling of Cowichan to Quw’utsun, to reflect the traditional and unceded territory of Cowichan Tribes.
