Frank Pearse is probably as excited as his students for the return to school today, Sept. 5, after a two-month summer break.
The principal of Coast Salish Elementary in Coquitlam, Pearse will be welcoming about 200 students plus teachers and support staff to School District 43's (SD43) newest school building.
What's special about this year is that the school will be completely finished — including landscaping and interior work — so that students will no longer have to be bused to Irvine Elementary for classes.
"The children will be missing the bus ride for sure," said Pearse.
But he said they'll love the new school that has a brand new playground as well.
"The wait was well worth it," said Pearse.
New furniture was being moved in when the Tri-City News visited last week and teachers were already in classes setting up their new rooms.
Students can expect to be greeted by teachers wearing Coast Salish t-shirts and the school PAC will provide welcoming snacks for parents.
Coast Salish kids in kindergarten to Grade 5 will be among 30,000 FTE (full-time equivalent) students who are headed back to school this week.
As many as 4,000 teachers and support staff will also be heading back to class, making SD43 the Tri-Cities' biggest employer.
Most students will only be in class for a short time today while kindergarten students will participate in gradual entry for the next two weeks, attending in small groups until they get acclimatized to the school.
Carved out of the hillside on Burke Mountain, at 3538 Sheffield Ave., Coast Salish cost $52.3 million, with $47.3 million in funding from the province and $5 million from SD43.
It will provide 430 student spaces, plus child care, in the fast-growing Burke Mountain neighbourhood.
Originally slated to open in 2021, the school was delayed owing to labour and supply chain issues.
