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Prospective students are a step closer to passing through the doors of Maplewood Secondary School, but there’s still paperwork to be done first.
A notice to families on Thursday evening from A.J. Keene, superintendent of education (south) for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, said Maplewood had passed an on-site occupancy inspection earlier in the day, “and we are awaiting the formal letter from the City of Ottawa officials.
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“We will share more details tomorrow.”
Thursday’s update added that synchronous virtual learning would continue for all students in Grades 7-9 on Friday.
The new school on Cope Drive in Stittsville wasn’t ready for the first day of school on Sept. 3, and that was initially pushed back to Tuesday, Sept. 17. However, outstanding safety concerns meant the City of Ottawa still had not issued the required occupancy permit.
A city building official said Tuesday that remaining deficiencies had involved the building’s fire and life-safety systems, including sprinklers, fire alarm, emergency lighting and generator.
After years of lobbying for a new public high school in Stittsville, one of Ottawa’s fastest growing suburbs, the Province of Ontario announced funding for construction in 2018. The new school was originally expected to open in September 2023, but the COVID-19 pandemic supply chain and other issues delayed completion.
Until now, its public high school students had to bus to Richmond, about 14 kilometres away, to attend South Carleton High School.
Students who didn’t want to make the trip to Richmond could also opt for the local Catholic high school, Sacred Heart, which now has more than 1,100 students in Grades 9 through 12 and almost 600 students in Grades 7 and 8.
When it is fully operational, Maplewood will be home to more than 1,300 students from Grades 7 to 12.
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