Marshville Public School and St. Elizabeth Catholic School Will Open this Fall, Providing Students with Innovative and Modern Learning Spaces
Today, Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West, announced that the new joint Marshville Public School and St. Elizabeth Catholic Elementary School in Wainfleet will be welcoming new students in September for the 2024-25 school year. This project is a part of Ontario's ongoing efforts to build and improve local schools, with the province providing the District School Board of Niagara with $18.5 million and Niagara Catholic District School Board with $5.4 million to build the new joint school in Wainfleet.
"The completion of the new joint Marshville Public School and St. Elizabeth Catholic School in Wainfleet is welcome news for our community," said MPP Oosterhoff.
"This investment will ensure families and students have access to a quality learning environment in the years ahead."
"The District School Board of Niagara is thrilled to be welcoming students through the doors of Marshville Public School for the first time ever this fall," said Sue Barnett, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the District School Board of Niagara.
"This joint venture with the Niagara Catholic District School Board has resulted in a brand new, vibrant and inclusive space that will create greater learning experiences and become second home to students in this close-knit community. We are grateful to the Ministry of Education, our supportive families, and the many staff who have worked incredibly hard to prepare this new school where our students will continue to learn and grow together."
"The Niagara Catholic District School Board is grateful to the Ministry of Education for funding a new St. Elizabeth Catholic Elementary School in Wainfleet," said Danny Di Lorenzo, Chair the Board of Trustees of the Niagara Catholic District School.
"The new St. Elizabeth Catholic Elementary School has the equipment and resources for 21st century teachers and learners and we know our students and staff will be very happy there."
"One of my first tasks as a new Director in the fall of 2020 was to attend the announcement for a new joint-use elementary school in Wainfleet," said Camillo Cipriano, Director of Education of the Niagara Catholic District School.
"Today, I am excited to celebrate the start of a new school year at a brand-new St. Elizabeth Catholic Elementary School. Thank you to everyone involved in the creation of this new facility, and I wish everyone a fantastic 2024-2025 school year."
The joint project delivers 587 elementary spaces and forty-nine licensed child care spaces for local families for the 2024-25 school year. The investment is part of Ontario's commitment to providing about $16 billion to support school construction, renewal and improvement over ten years. Since 2018, the government has approved or supported the development of over 300 school-related projects including child care, of which more than 100 are actively under construction.
Additionally, Ontario is taking action to ensure that school board capital assets are used effectively and efficiently to meet the needs of growing communities, support student learning and ensure value for taxpayer dollars. The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023, empowers decision-makers to build modern schools faster by better utilizing school capacity, reducing barriers for school boards to facilitate agreements for schools in multi-use buildings such as condo towers, and shortening planning time through design standardization when constructing, renovating, or making additions to schools.
"As a mother, I understand that the local school really is the heart of the community, and that it is so important for young families to have a school that is close to home," said Hon. Jill Dunlop, Minister of Education.
"Our government is listening to parents, which is why we took action, and we are now proud to deliver a new, state-of-the-art joint Marshville Public School and St. Elizabeth Catholic School for Wainfleet families, along with increasing funding, staffing and a back-to-basics focus on reading, writing and math to help ensure students graduate with the fundamental skills they need to succeed."
Highlights of the project include:
District School Board of Niagara – Marshville Public School
Niagara Catholic District School Board – St. Elizabeth Catholic School
"Under Premier Ford's leadership, we are building more state-of-the-art schools to support the needs of Ontario's students, families and growing communities," said Hon. Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure
"By investing in innovative and modern learning spaces, we are ensuring students have access to the quality education that will provide them with lifelong skills and education in a safe and healthy environment. These investments are one of the ways we are delivering on our promise to build Ontario, with an infrastructure budget of more than $190 billion over the next decade."
The joint Marshville Public School and St. Elizabeth Catholic School is located at 31950 Sugarloaf Street in Wainfleet.
Quick Facts
Since 2018, the Ontario government has invested more than $3.6 billion in capital construction projects in education, including 139 new schools, 109 additions and renovations to existing facilities, creating more than 98,000 student spaces and over 8,000 new licensed child care spaces.
For the 2024-25 school year, the ministry will provide renewal funding of approximately $1.4 billion to school boards to revitalize and renew aged building systems and components.
The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 ensures the public education system focuses on what matters most: teaching important lifelong skills such as reading, writing and math; improving accountability and transparency for parents and families; maximizing capital assets of boards to support building modern schools faster and better utilizing current school capacity.
Ontario secured a $13.2 billion agreement with the federal government that will lower fees for families to an average of $10 a day for children under the age of six under the Canada wide Early Learning and Child Care system.
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Media Contact | Michael Zwiep | michael.zwiep@pc.ola.org