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Structural integrity of R. Ross Beattie 'unknown'

An entire wing has been set aside at Timmins High
R Ross Beattie public school
R. Ross Beattie Senior Public School is pictured in this District School Board Ontario North East photo

NEWS RELEASE

DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD ONTARIO NORTHEAST

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Parents of students attending R. Ross Beattie Senior Public School gathered at Timmins High’s William B. Dawson Auditorium Tuesday night, for a public meeting regarding the recent closure of the school.

Classes were cancelled on Friday, May 20, as repair crews and structural engineers moved in to assess the damage of a water leak at the school.

Ground outside the building was saturated and water observed under paver stones. Water was pumped out from different areas of the school, but it is felt that water has been leaking at the school for a very long time.

Since the structural integrity of the building is currently unknown, the decision to move students to Timmins High for the remainder of the school year was made.

Over the past several days, board staff have been busy transporting items from the Beattie building over to Timmins High.

As Superintendent of Schools, Michelle Leigh explained to parents, an entire wing of Timmins High has been dedicated as the Beattie Wing.

“Students will use ‘Exit I’, and more than twelve core classrooms will house students and their belongings,” said Leigh. “The students will have a dedicated cafeteria area, washrooms, and change rooms, and will continue to enjoy specialty classes such as Food and Nutrition, Woodworking, Physical Education, Computer Technologies, and Music. There will be increased supervision before and after school, and students will be escorted to their specialty classes by their teachers.”

Ross Beattie students will attend a full day of classes at Timmins High beginning this Thursday, May 26.

There will be no changes to transportation as students will continue to take their regularly assigned bus with the same pick-up and drop-off times. Before school, students will be escorted from their buses to the supervised fenced-in track area, and then at bell time brought directly to “Exit I” leading to the Beattie Wing.

Ross Beattie will house its’ main office on the upper floor. Late arrivals to school will use the main TH&VS office and be escorted to class.

All class times and schedules remain unchanged for both Beattie and Timmins High students.

“We really appreciate how hard staff have worked to make this such a smooth transition for our students in such a short period of time,” commented Board Chair Doug Shearer. We commend our dedicated staff at both Timmins High and Ross Beattie, and thank parents for their understanding during this trying time.”

The Board promises to keep the public updated regarding the repair work at Beattie. Another parent information session will be held in June. A date will be announced at a later time.

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