Bear Stream School is a new school, but it’s also a new experience for the Good Spirit School Division, and the start of a new set of schools in the area. The school is the first Hutterian School in the Good Spirit School Division.
The new school is a partnership between the Clarion Colony and the GSSD, explains Dwayne Reeve, Director of Education.
The colony purchased and moved the building to the site in the Kamsack area, which was previously used as a school by a different colony east of Winnipeg. They are responsible for the facility overall, and was worked on over the winter.
“It’s interesting because very seldom do you get to move and have an additional school. This is exciting.”
It has been a learning experience for both groups, Reeve says, as they worked to get the school ready for students. A late harvest did mean that the school opened a bit later than intended, and Reeve says it has been an open collaboration from the beginning.
“For us, it’s about getting to know and understand how the Hutterian educational needs are met. It’s a little different because there are religious aspects that we need to be aware of and there are also cultural aspects that we need to be aware of. We are looking forward to that and also looking forward to the connections we get with other Hutterian schools around the province.”
The GSSD will be in charge of the instructional programming, which includes staffing and resources, while the colony itself is responsible for the building. As a result, Bear Stream School will be considered differently in the funding formula from other schools, as it is a partnership with the colony.
“It becomes an important community centre for them, not unlike some of the facilities we have in other communities. Obviously it is multi-purpose for the colony.”
Coincidentally, the location of the school has a personal connection to the principal, as it is located on her former home.
Colleen Pennell, whose first role as an administrator is with Bear Stream School, used to live on the site where it now stands, as it is located in the yard site of the farm where she raised her family.
This is the first Hutterian school, but it will not be the last.
Reeve says that there is potential for three more to begin operation in the division, and there is a colony in the Melville area which is looking to establish a school in the fall.
