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LARRY’S RIVER — Despite early hopes that Guysborough County’s first French-language school would open its own premises by the end of last month, École Belle-Baie’s new campus in Larry’s River isn’t ready to receive students and teachers, and there’s no clear indication on when it will, according to a provincial government spokesperson.
“The modulars at École Belle-Baie did not open in September,” Krista Higdon, a communications specialist for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, told The Journal in an email last week, adding: “There are several challenges facing the construction industry right now, including availability of skilled labour.”
She did not respond to The Journal’s request for a new opening date, stating: “Delays to school projects are disappointing and we work to avoid them [to] the extent possible.”
In early September, Higdon reported, “We are very excited about the progress being made on the new Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP) École Belle-Baie. We expect the school to be ready for students by the end of September.”
When complete, she said, the $5-million structure – paid for under the province’s school capital program – will be “made up of five modular classrooms and an administrative space housed adjacent to the Larry’s River community centre [and] will have space for more than 125 students from grades pre-primary to grade 10.”
École Belle-Baie – which formally launched a year ago in the community centre’s “learning space” – currently has about 22 students, but with its own place to call home, that number was expected to grow, according to the school’s principal Nicole Bell-Avery in an interview last month. “I think with a permanent structure, there will be many more parents interested. This will become the hub of this community,” she said.
According to Jude Avery, president of La Société Acadienne de Torbé, École Belle-Baie officials have been asked to defer all media inquires to the CSAP.
In an interview with the Journal last week, CSAP Director of Communications Stephanie Comeau said, “The province is still working on it but as for an update on when, we’re not sure when. That would be a question for the province and we’ve just put in a request [for information] as well.”
École Belle-Baie’s new building is the latest phase in what’s been a long, parent-led and CSAP-supported campaign to ensure that public education is available in the French language for students living in the traditionally Acadian area, including the neighbouring communities of Tor Bay, Charlos Cove, and Port Felix – and nearby communities.
“We’ve been working very hard at preserving our culture over a number of years,” Avery recently told The Journal. “To [do this] without the language [being taught] is a difficult road, and, so, this [schoolhouse] will give us another tool in the toolbox to do just that.”
Meanwhile, Higdon said in her email email last week, “The school continues in the community centre as it has since inception… We look forward to the completion of this project as it will be a wonderful learning environment and a great addition to the community of Larry’s River.”
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