A ground blessing ceremony was performed by First Nations Elders and Catholic church representatives at the site of Sarnia's new Gregory A. Hogan school on Wednesday.
The St. Clair Catholic District School Board (SCCDSB) elementary school will be the new home to French immersion students in Sarnia and is located on The Rapids Parkway.
SCCDSB Director of Education Scott Johnson said construction is underway, with concrete footings outlining the facility already poured.
"We are early into the project, hoping to have our students and families into this new school for January 2024," Johnson said. "With the increase in pricing and waiting for the government to give us additional funds, which they did and had to get through the election process to do that, just in that duration of time the cost of doing business increased substantially. So, that puts a delay on getting some of our labour and materials."
Previously, the board hoped to have construction complete by next September.
"The cost of the project increased a fair bit, from approximately $19 million at the first rendering to about $24 million as of last spring. At this point, we hope that we're finished with escalations and costs, and now we're just working through on catching up on time."
Johnson said the facility will serve several generations, which is why they wanted the site blessed by multiple stakeholders.
Walpole Island First Nation Elder Cedric Issac, who visits area schools to teach children about Indigenous culture, did a traditional smudging ceremony.
"When we smudge we give blessing to all around us and to all of the kids who will be going into the school, and those going in to teach," said Issac. "[We want the teachers to] go in with a good mind, a straight mind, and a strong mind. To teach the right things to these young people, because they're our future. Every school I go to, I say, 'I'm the same as you, you're the same as me, we're no different."
Father Paul Kim, of Sarnia's Bluewater Roman Catholic Family of Parishes, did a Catholic blessing and students from the current Gregory A. Hogan Catholic School choir performed two songs.
Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey, SCCDSB staff and trustees, and members of the Hogan family were also in attendance.
The board received approval from the Ontario Ministry of Education to proceed with construction in March.
The state-of-the-art school will serve 659 students and be filled with the latest technology.
It will also include a five-room child care centre and an expanded 900 square foot community room. Funding for the expanded room was provided in 2021 through a $200,000 donation by the Hogan family.
Residents can view a 3D tour of what the school will look like here.
