New School in La Loche – ‘It feels like a mall’
Valerie G. Barnes Connell Jordan
Northern Advocate
NJTÉLAZETÜE Elementary School in La Loche was officially opened Sept. 26, with Premier Scott Moe, Education Minister Everett Hindley, and Minister of SaskBuilds and Procurement David Marit present.
“It’s exciting,” Jason Young, education director for Northern Lights School Division (NLSD), said, in an interview with the Northern Advocate. “It’s been a long time since the school division has had a brand new major capital project.”
La Loche is part of Northern Lights School Division, which stretches across the northern half of Saskatchewan.
“It’s a beautiful facility, has two floors … an Elders room, a cultural room, Lots of great spaces,” he said.
The cafeteria is large enough for the school to provide “hot lunch and breakfast program, community feasts, and those kinds of things … They’ve got these little breakout spaces, which are excellent. – It was an exciting day!”
The children were very excited to be in their new school, Young said.
“They just think it’s so cool,” Young said. “They say, ‘it feels like a mall in here.’
“Very exciting to finally have the grand opening,” he added.
Work on the $44.75 million new school began in February 2023, with funding complemented by $950,000 from Northern Lights School Division and private sector sponsorship, according to a Saskatchewan government news release.
“This new school is an investment in the next generation,” Premier Scott Moe said in the news release.
“The establishment of this new school provides students in La Loche and the surrounding region with a modern and culturally enriched learning environment – one that will support them for generations to come,” Hindley also said in the news release.
