New Kehewin school hopes to welcome students in the fall

A virtual representation of the Kehewin School concept. Image credit: https://bit.ly/2Tr0lgU.

The Kehewin School build is on schedule and should be finished this summer, said Kehewin Cree Nation Chief Vernon Watchmaker.

The new K-12 school will maintain the core subjects but have an added focus of STEM classes (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

The construction is set to finish in July with the school ready to welcome students in September, said Watchmaker.

“We are glad that we are having a new school in our reserve. It’s been a long process, but it’s been a very good process where the Kehewin Cree Nation leadership and members were involved right from the get-go,” said Chief Watchmaker.

“The design was done with leadership and the students of the school and students and teachers. So the all-inclusiveness, the members and students and teachers and elders made it more of a good experience and we’re looking forward to the school opening.”

This new school will replace the old one built in the 1970s.

It’s an $18 million project and is slated to signify the connection between the spirit of nature and the Indigenous people by building the structure with wood.

The nation will decide how to repurpose the old building in consultations with band members and elders, said Watchmaker.

“The importance of the new school being in our community is we can have the responsibility of maintaining our language and culture, our community involvement and fostering those young students to know they are and wehre they come from,” he said.

“When they leave the community to pursue other education, that they know who they are and where they came from and that will help them be grounded and they give a perspective from Kehewin…so that the school is big in assisting them with their identity.”

GenMec ACL is building the school after an RFD process and helping accomplish the bold, traditional designs the nation has for the project.

“We had a good meeting with them and discussion and how Kehewin could be involved with the construction process and providing working opportunities and also just bettering the relationship,” said Watchmaker.

“There’s other areas we mentioned to them and they are considering having future relationships even after the school. So we think fostering those types of relationships with industry is a big plus for the community.”