Steinbach breaks ground on new school

Construction has officially started on Steinbach's newest school.

A groundbreaking ceremony took place Wednesday morning for the new kindergarten to grade four school on the west edge of Steinbach, off McKenzie Avenue.

The two-storey school is being designed to accommodate 600 students, with an initial capacity of 500 students and the ability to expand by 100 students in the future. It is expected to cost $39.7 million and should be complete in early 2025.

The 62,304 square foot school will include:

• 19 classrooms for kindergarten to grade 4;
• a child-care facility with 74 spaces;
• a gymnasium;
• a library;
• a music room;
• an art room;
• a multi-purpose room;
• a life-skills suite;
• hygiene room; and
• associated support spaces.

The building will be built with two wings off of a central core. The east wing will contain two storeys of classroom space, while the north wing will include classrooms on the second floor with kindergarten and childcare spaces on the main level. The central core contains the two-storey entry commons, with direct access to the school's core functions.

Penn-co Project Manager Ryan Taylor with his children at Wednesday's sod turning event.

"It is important for Manitoba students to have the best possible learning environments, no matter where they live in our province," says Wayne Ewasko, Early Childhood Learning Minister. "This new school will enable Hanover School Division to give more children and families in Steinbach high-quality education, early learning and child-care experiences and to provide resources students need to get the most out of their education."

Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen says there are families currently living in Steinbach whose children will look forward to coming to this school. He says there are also families whose children have not yet been conceived who will end up in this school. But, Goertzen says based on the nature of Steinbach, there are also families in the world today who have never heard of Steinbach whose children will come to this school.

"And I think that's amazing and it's a testament to this community," says Goertzen.

"Capital projects strengthen communities and this new school in Steinbach will increase the vitality of the community," says Consumer Protection and Government Services Minister James Teitsma. "The school will meet current and future enrolment needs in this growing city."

"The board of trustees expresses heartfelt gratitude to the Manitoba government for their unwavering commitment to education and building a new K-4 school in West Steinbach," says Ron Falk, Board Chair for Hanover School Division. "This investment will greatly benefit our students and their families and foster a brighter future for our community."

Falk reiterates that the school will not be full when it opens. It has also been designed to accommodate an additional 100 students once they reach 500. He notes the building committee will also be working on coming up with an official name for the new school. 

Our provincial government had a goal of building 20 schools in 10 years. That plan was expanded to include three additional schools and to be completed two years earlier, opening by September 2027. This will also help the Manitoba government achieve its target of adding 23,000 new child-care spaces by 2026.

With files from Adi Loewen