Schooling « Blog of Lowes – Striving to Reach New Lowes!

Timmy's going to Magnetic Hill Public School for the remainder of this year, and then in September the school that was just built, Northrop Frye School will open and Timmy and Liam will go there for the next 8 years or so.

On Friday night they had an open house because our class will be the inaugural class for Northrop Frye School, save for the high school students currently attending because Moncton High School was closed due to mold. That said, we got to walk around and see all the classrooms, facilities, cafetorium and so on. Before I go further, it's important to note that the budget for the school's construction did not include money for a library or any outdoor play facilities like monkeybars, swings, a track etc. Thus, the school has been fundraising for $100k to build these missing facilities, asking companies and families to give what they can to the cause.

What school board builds a school but does not budget for at least a library? With the volumes of families paying taxes, if the school board has enough to construct a multimillion dollar facility, what's a few extra thousand to furnish a library? More on this later.

This was the most modern school I've ever seen; open atrium down the middle divides the one wing in half with classrooms on either side. The classrooms each have a glass wall that looks out onto the atrium, but the other wall of the classroom has the usual door to a hallway so there are really two entrances to the room. Each room also has a small "breakout" room that they can use to segregate a small group of students. The cafeteria doubles as an auditorium (hence "cafetorium) with a stage that has a moving wall allowing it to be shared with either the cafetorium or one of the 3 gyms. Yes, 3. Remember this school not only serves a rather dense population in our neighbourhood, but a large chunk of it too. I think the school is appropriately sized. The colours were a lime green, white, blues.. Not too hard on the eyes but an interesting choice of colours for sure.

Everything was great except here's where things get funny: ever hear of a smart board? Think computer projector linked to a series of pens allowing the teacher to "draw" on the smartboard with the assistance of a computer. Interesting

Coupled with the smart board is a PA system. Yes, the teacher wears a microphone and the voice is amplified to the students. Interesting. I was starting to think back to the fundraising campaign at this point.

And then the pièce de résistance: the kindergarten room has heated floors.

Heated floors? Since when were heated floors necessary in a kindergarten? Since when were smartboards an integral part of education? Since when do school boards budget for warm bums, karaoke teachers and powerpoint presented pupils, but not libraries and playgrounds?

I was stunned. I'm all for technology, but not at the expense of the basics. One should not purchase an iPad before paying the rent! This better be worth it cause the playground they get won't come for a little while, so please read the fundraising document and make a donation. It doesn't benefit you at all, but it helps Timmy and Liam out a lot.