'It's starting to take shape': Rollo Bay French school nears completion

The new Frenchschool in RolloBay, P.E.I., is nearing completion.

The $9 million project includes extensive renovations to a school in the community that was closed a few years ago.

• Eastern P.E.I. is getting a new French school
• P.E.I. school to be partially demolished for make way for new building

The new building is both a community centre and K-12 school, sayscoleLa-Belle-Cloche principalMarise Chapman, with a daycare,elementary wing and high school wing with roomfor 150 students.

"At this point the outside of the facility is looking very very good," she said.

"The inside, every area looks a little different."

'Strong Acadian and Francophone roots'

Contractors are installing electrical fixtures and laying flooring throughout the building.There's also painting being donein the high school wing and other work is also being done in the elementary wing.

There's a lot of little jobs to be completedand she hopes there aren't any major hurdles along the way.

One focal pointof the new schoolis the multi-purpose meeting area, with a performance stage front and centre. Also, for the first time, French students in eastern Kings County will have a full size gym and spacefor industrial arts and home economics.

Chapman said the school will help prepare the many Francophone students in the region.

"There's strong Acadian and Francophone roots in the area we also live in anarea where people want our children to be able to leave the area and be well prepared both linguistically and culturally and in terms of work skills so we're really catering to that need."

"Kids, when they graduate from our school, are fluently bilingual and it's greatly anticipated."

Should be ready by February

Jordan Brown, P.E.I.'s minister of education, toured the facility as well. He said the school will be central to the Acadian population in the area.

"It's starting to take shape, you can kind of see the potential that this space has for the community in this area," he said.

"It's very exciting to check it out and to see what's going to happen here and the future that that offers for this community."

For now, students atcole La-Belle-Cloche areusing the old school nearby in Fortune.

If all goes on schedule, they'll be moving into the new schoolin early February.

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