Students and staff at A.J. McLellan Elementary school celebrated the grand opening today of a $3.2-million, eight-room addition to provide more classroom space in the province's fastest-growing school district.

The addition increases the school's capacity by 190 students. Two of the classrooms will be for full-day kindergarten and the remaining six for elementary students. With the addition, the school now has 21 classrooms to support 505 students from kindergarten to Grade 7.

The addition is part of the government's $144.5-million capital commitment to support full-day kindergarten. As part of this commitment, the Surrey school district is receiving 58 new classrooms through various upgrades and renovations.

The addition features energy-efficient lighting systems and was built to meet B.C.'s Wood First Initiative by incorporating as much wood as possible in the design and construction. The school boiler was also updated to further increase energy efficiency.

Prior to the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, Education Minister George Abbott joined a Grade 5 science class who made mini rockets out of plastic film containers and Alka-Seltzer tablets.

Quotes:

George Abbott, Minister of Education -

"The addition to A.J. McLellan will provide additional space to meet the needs of students and families in this growing community."

Laurae McNally, chair, Surrey board of education -

"The growth in the Surrey school district is unprecedented in B.C. I appreciate the Ministry of Education's efforts to address our ongoing needs for classroom spaces, and I'm very appreciative of the patience and understanding of the A.J. McLellan school community in waiting for the new classrooms and enduring the construction."

Kevin Falcon, MLA, Surrey-Cloverdale -

"As Surrey continues to grow, we will ensure the needed capital investments in our schools keep pace. This addition at A.J. McLellan is a great example of how we are meeting the needs of our youngest learners."

Quick Facts:

• Since 2001, the Province has invested more than $243 million for 49 capital and seismic projects and eight site acquisitions in the Surrey school district. Our government has also invested more than $25.8 million for additional space for full-day kindergarten.
• Since 2001, the Province has spent more than $2.1 billion to complete 93 new and replacement schools, 150 additions, 27 renovations and 22 site acquisitions throughout British Columbia.
• Our government is currently working to upgrade, replace and build a total of 60 schools across B.C. over the next four years. The total cost of these projects is approximately $1.5 billion.

Learn More:

BC's Education Plan: www.bcedplan.ca

Contact:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Education
250 356-5963