The Near North District School Board will be receiving $12.4-million in provincial funding so it can build a new school .

The current W.J. Fricker school will close at the end of the 2018-2019 school year and a new one will be built.

The new school will accommodate Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6 students from E.T. Carmichael and E.W. Norman public schools, which are also closing as part of the accommodation process, along with Extended French Grade 5 and 6 students from W.J. Fricker Public School.

The construction of integrated child care facilities at the new school has also been approved with one Infant, one Toddler, two Pre-School rooms, as well as the construction of a new EarlyON Child and Family Centre.

Board chair David Thompson is happy with the news.

“It’s modernizing our infrastructure and that’s important for current and future students. And programming. Programming is what drives our needs. It’s exciting that the government recognizes that we had a strong business plan and we’re putting students first,” he says.

Board officials say in September 2019, Grade 5 and 6 students from W.J. Fricker will be accommodated at E.W. Norman while the new school is being constructed and the Grade 7 and 8 students from W.J. Fricker will attend the Chippewa site.

Meantime, child care facilities will be included in a new Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 school in Parry Sound.

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