MOOSE JAW — The South Hill Community Association (SHCA) has been watching the joint-use school take shape and recently decided to support the purchase of new playground equipment for the building.
Six association members attended Prairie South School Division’s May board meeting, where they presented a cheque — a large novelty one for the presentation and a small one with the actual money — of $5,000 for new equipment at Coteau Hills Elementary School.
Prairie South and Holy Trinity are paying for the equipment for Coteau Hills and Our Lady of Hope with help from community donations, while they are splitting the roughly $400,000 expenses. The installations should occur by September.
Crystal Froese, association president, said the group raises money from activities to support the community’s south side.
“So we’re really happy to be here to donate and support this great initiative and we’re really looking forward to when the new school opens,” she added. “… we’ve been watching as it has developed, so we’re very excited.”
Giselle Wilson, board chairwoman, thanked the association for its hard work and commitment, acknowledging that $5,000 is a lot of money and not easy to raise.
After the presentation, Froese explained that the association generated the money from activities such as steak nights, chilli nights and the annual South of the Bridge Day events.
“So we’ve been accumulating money over the past couple of years, particularly for a larger project like this. So we’ve finally got a big enough cheque, literally and figuratively,” she chuckled.
All South Hill is excited to see the new school take shape, and it will be fantastic when the new playground gear arrives, said Froese, while she and the SHCA looked forward to the building’s opening.
The joint-use school’s opening means four standalone schools on South Hill — Empire, Westmount, Sacred Heart and St. Mary — will close at the end of June.
“We’re looking forward to (seeing) what the school boards decide with them,” said Froese, whether they sell them or let another organization take over. “Of course, we’d like to see the playgrounds all kept because the neighbourhoods have developed around those. … Kids (also) need (them) in their area to just walk to a local ice rink or playground.”
Of the four soon-to-be-closed schools, the 1910-built Empire is the oldest. Froese — who attended there as a kid — pointed out that it may also be the oldest school in Saskatchewan.
“So we’ll just have to wait and see (what happens with it). And the school boards have kept us apprised of things as they’ve been moving along … so I’m sure they’ll keep in touch with us as they make their final decisions as things progress,” she said.
Asked if she wanted to see the school preserved, Froese said she served on the city’s heritage advisory committee for 10 years and knows how important historic buildings are to the community.
“It would be really wonderful to see that building maintained in some capacity or something of it kept as a historical (object),” Froese said, pointing out that the city saved the arches from King Edward School and installed them in Crescent Park.
“So hopefully if something really drastic has to happen, they will try to capture the history of it and have that invested somewhere else in our community,” she added.
Meanwhile, the SHCA is planning a big fundraising event in the fall for a multi-year project — such as a skate or bike park — since the north side has what the south side needs, said Froese. Also, the group is planning a movie night in August for the entire city.
Froese added that people who live south of the railroad tracks are considered members of the SHCA, so she encouraged them to either volunteer for projects or join the organizing committee.
Visit Facebook for more information about the South Hill Community Association.
