MOOSE JAW — The four elementary schools on South Hill that will be closing and amalgamating into one joint-use building plan to hold farewell celebrations to honour the histories of their respective institutions.
Westmount, Empire, Sacred Heart and St. Mary will close their doors at the end of June and move into the Coteau Hills/Our Lady of Hope joint-use elementary school, which will welcome roughly 900 students for the start of the 2025-26 school year in September.
Westmount is having its farewell celebration on Thursday, June 5 from 5 to 8 p.m.
From 5 to 6:30 p.m., food trucks will be on the back tarmac, where students will be participating in a carnival.
From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., everyone is welcome to walk around the school, while the gym will be open with displays to view and cake to enjoy.
Then, from 7:30 to 8 p.m., an auction of Westmount items and cake will occur. All the money raised from these auctions will go toward the new playground for Coteau Hills.
Empire is having “a walk down memory lane” farewell event on Tuesday, June 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. This will be a come-and-go barbecue and open house for all current and former students, while there will be food trucks, Empire memorabilia and a bouncy castle.
“Do you have some Empire memorabilia from the last century? If so, we would love to borrow it for our farewell! Please give us a call!” a poster reads, noting the school’s number is 306-692-3903.
Anyone interested in acquiring Empire clothing and other gear has until Saturday, May 31 to purchase those items, and after that, the store will be closed. Also, students and staff are encouraged to join an alumni challenge, which focuses on raising funds to help purchase new playground equipment.
Donations can be made online by visiting www.prairiesouth.ca or www.htcsd.ca, by mailing or dropping off a cheque at the offices of either Prairie South School Division or Holy Trinity Catholic School Division, or arranging for a cheque pickup by calling 306-693-4679 or 306-691-2402.
Anyone who donates more than $20 will receive a charitable tax receipt; those who donate up to $100 will receive bronze-level recognition; those who donate $101 to $1,000 will receive silver-level recognition; and those who donate $1,001 to $5,000 will receive gold-level recognition.
St. Mary’s “school closure celebration and walk through memory lane” event occurs on Saturday, June 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 720 Fifth Avenue Southwest. There will be a barbecue — hotdogs will be $2 each — and a chance for people to reconnect with old friends while walking through the school one last time.
The class of 2006 will also open a time capsule that was sealed away nearly two decades ago.
Sacred Heart is holding a farewell event on Saturday, June 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This will be a come-and-go open house for families and alumni to tour the school and see what has changed over the years.
Several food trucks may be on site, while inside, the gym will have old yearbooks and photos for people to view. Also, Moose Jaw company Ripley Prints will be selling alumni T-shirts with a logo that says “Sacred Heart Alumni.”
More information about most of these events can be found on Facebook.
