CUT KNIFE - More than three years after its opening, Cut Knife Community School (CKCS) was finally able to host the grand opening of the school on March 31.
In September, 2019, after years of planning and consideration, CKCS opened its doors to students and staff, even though there were a few minor touches to complete. It had been determined Cut Knife could no longer support an elementary and high school in two different facilities. The solution was to renovate the existing high school to accommodate all grades from pre-kindergarten to Grade 12.
Many changes had to be made to the building and other changes had to be made to make the younger grades feel welcome in the new facility.
By combining the elementary school’s blue colour and the high school’s green colour, it was decided that teal would be the colour of the new school, along with grey and black. A new mascot was called for and they decided that the Kodiak bear would be most suitable with its gentle, yet determined qualities. The younger students being referred to as the Kodiak cubs.
Joining the cultures of the two schools was not as easy as making these decisions, yet with the help of cooperative staff and enthusiastic students, it appears to have been successful.
One of the major projects for the new school turned out to be the development of a new playground. Plans were already in the works to improve the playground at the elementary school, but the the amalgamation of the two schools, the project became much larger as a whole new playground had to be put in place. Thanks to a committee made up of teachers, students, parents and community members, they were able to raise enough funds to erect playground equipment suitable for the whole school.
To celebrate all of these achievements, students, their families, staff and community members and dignitaries joined together to enjoy a beef on a bun lunch with salads prepared at the school.
Following the meal, there were a number of activities in different locations in the school, including crafts, face painting, artifacts, bingo, the Balloon Man, book fair preview and traditional story tellers. This gave people an opportunity to enjoy various activities while exploring the school to see what changes had been made.
Following these activities the formal portion of the opening included smudging and a blessing by elder Darwin Atcheynum; speeches by CKCS Principal Jeff Barrett; Living Sky School Division Director of Education Brenda Vickers; Board Chair Ronna Pethick and a presentation about the new playground equipment by MC for the afternoon, Alison Hamilton.
The final event of the formal part of the afternoon was a ribbon cutting by Principal Jeff Barrett and Vice Principal Anneliese Hampson with the ribbon being held by the Kodiak mascots.
To wrap up the activities, everyone was welcomed to join in the round dance, the final event the the grand opening of Cut Knife Community School.
