Premier, Education Minister attend opening of Baccalieu Collegiate

Premier Roger Grimes and Education Minister Gerry Reid were in Old Perlican, Trinity Bay this afternoon to attend the official opening of Baccalieu Collegiate.

"Societies that invest in education grow and prosper," said Premier Grimes. "In fact, if you look at the most successful nations in the world today, you always find that there is a dedication to strong investment in the education systems. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador recently reconfirmed our commitment to education with a provincial budget which focused heavily on education. We will continue to invest in education at all levels to ensure that the young people of the province have the support they need to achieve and excel and be ready to seize the opportunities before them."

Baccalieu Collegiate is 34,690 square feet and replaces E.J. Pratt Central High, Brownsdale; Holy Trinity Regional High, Heart�s Content; St. Joseph�s Central High, Bay de Verde; and Northshore Collegiate, Northern Bay.

"The Department of Education is committed to ensuring that our schools provide comfortable, safe and modern learning environments," said Minister Reid. "Baccalieu Collegiate is the most recent example of government�s pledge to bring every school in the province up to a level that meets national standards within five years. Baccalieu Collegiate exceeds those standards. Students attending this school will graduate, knowing they received the highest quality education this province has to offer."

Though it currently services students in Grades 7-9, the school was designed to accommodate 350, K-12 students in the future. The state-of-the-art facility has a mechanical ventilation system and is fully accessible. All instructional areas are wired for computers and the school has a local area network. It contains special education facilities, a challenging needs suite, a medical room, library/resource centre, a general science room as well as two science laboratories. There is a gymnasium, landscaping and a paved parking lot.

In the past several years government has invested $19,982,000 to improve school facilities in the Avalon West School District.

Media contact: Elizabeth Matthews, Communications, (709) 729-0048, or (709) 727-3438.

2003 04 05                                      2:10 p.m.