Classes were cancelled at Belleville’s Easthill Elementary School Thursday afternoon but for a very good reason.
Well over 200 students and staff gathered in the gym to celebrate the grand opening of the school.
One of the guest speakers was Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board’s Director of Education Katheriner MacIver who said the school is something everyone can be proud of.
“Really bright welcoming environments in our classrooms. Our classrooms are joined together and there are some separate spaces for students that are connected to them. The gymnasium is very large.”
Director of Education for the HPEDSB Katherine MacIver. (Photo: Quinte News)
The provincial government paid all of the over $25 million cost to build the 50,000 square foot facility and Bay of Quinte riding MPP Tyler Allsopp was impressed with what he saw.
“This is an incredible school, beautiful, everything brand new. It has 472 student spaces and 49 child care spaces as well and they are desperately needed in the community.”
The YMCA runs the child care facility.
Mayor of Belleville Neil Ellis joked that the building was so impressive he was thinking it would be a good idea to go back to school again.
Chair of the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board’s Board of Directors Kari Kramp said people want and expect a safe, fun, exciting place to go to school and Easthill Elementary was it.
Speaking for MP Ryan Williams was Director of Riding Affairs Ingrid Moore who said the school was much more than just a building with four walls, it was a building with a “lot of tomorrows in it.”
Representing the students at the assembly were Shaya Marcotte and Eli Poyner. Shaya had this to say in giving thanks
to the many people and organizations that made Easthill Elementary School a reality.
“It’s a place where we all come together to learn, grow, and support one another. It’s a community built on kindness, dedication and hard work.”
Part of the crowd that packed Easthill Elementary School’s gymnasium. (Photo: Quinte News)
Performing at the assembly were the school’s choir and band. The choir sang a song titled “We Remember” in conjunction with a slideshow depicting past and present Canadian military members serving both here and abroad.
The school’s sports teams will be known as the Easthill Eclipse.
Easthill Elementary is an amalgamation of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria schools. Queen Elizabeth was built in 1951 while Queen Victoria opened in 1912.
Easthill Elementary School in Belleville. (Photo: Alan-Michael Steele/Quinte News)
