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UPDATE: St. Michael & Nicholson Transition

July 23, 2020
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​The Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board is excited to announce that changes are being made to St. Michael Catholic School and Nicholson Catholic College. 

These changes will allow for continued growth and programming at St. Michael Catholic School and will enhance facility updates and the expansion of the Extended French program to French Immersion at Nicholson Catholic College.

In September 2021, St. Michael Catholic School will become a kindergarten – Grade 6 dual track school, which will continue to offer French Immersion and English programming.  Currently St. Michael Catholic School is a Kindergarten to Grade 8 dual track French Immersion school.

At this time, NCC will transition to a Grade 7-12 school and in addition to the extended French program, will now offer French Immersion for all secondary students as well.

This transition will alleviate a growing population at St. Michael Catholic School and allow for more space for the Kindergarten – Grade 6 students. Nicholson Catholic College currently has surplus capacity and will allow the Grade 7 and 8 students to access additional facilities, such as science labs, learning commons, etc.

In May, parents/guardians, students and staff were invited to share their input via survey about the changes to St. Michael Catholic School and Nicholson Catholic College. ALCDSB staff took these questions, comments and considerations and determined that the transition would occur for September 2021.

This transition will also allow for facility enhancements to an older building at Nicholson Catholic College.  This will also include the addition of French Immersion programming for secondary students. ALCDSB is excited to continue to accommodate for the growing demand of French Immersion in Belleville and area while maintaining community schools.

β€œSt. Michael and Nichoslon are side by side and have already built strong relationships between the two school communities. I am excited to see this partnership grow and over the next year, we look forward to integrating these communities even more. It is excellent to see the mentorship and leadership opportunities for the secondary students and have role models for the younger students," said Karen Shannon, Superintendent of School Effectiveness.

β€œOur Board has been working on this project for over a year and I am thrilled to see that our collaborative process has developed a plan that will build a stronger Catholic learning community in meeting the needs of our students, families and staff," said David DeSantis, Director of Education.

 

Come Alive Outside Program

In addition to this transition, ALCDSB is excited to announce that the board has once again partnered with β€œCome Alive Outside," which is a program that creates the opportunity for teams of post-secondary, secondary and elementary students to work together with landscape professionals to design and build engaging outdoor learning environments.

This partnership will allow for enhancements to the outdoor area at St. Michael Catholic School and Nicholson Catholic College.

This is the third time that ALCDSB has partnered with Come Alive Outside. The Board has worked with this program to enhance the outdoor space at Archbishop O'Sullivan Catholic School in Kingston and Georges Vanier Catholic School in Belleville.

β€œWhile we are working on additional programming and facility enhancements for these two schools, we also recognized the importance of having an outdoor space for students, staff and community members to enjoy," said Shannon. β€œWe are thankful and excited to be working with Come Alive Outside again to provide these opportunities for our students." 


A letter was emailed home to all St. Michael and Nicholson families on July 22, 2020. 

More information can be found on the school websites:

St. Michael Catholic School

Nicholson Catholic College