Students in the pavilion of a Montreal school which was closed Monday for security reasons will have to stay at home all week, before having access to temporary premises to continue their lessons.
Last week, pieces of plaster broke away from the ceiling of Saint-Ambroise primary school, located in the Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie district, notably creating dust in a classroom. This situation prompted the Montreal School Service Center (CSSDM) to preventively close the Normanville pavilion on Monday, while technical experts analyzed the scene.
However, these analyses, carried out in part by an external firm specializing in building hygiene, led to the conclusion that work will have to take place for four to eight weeks in this pavilion before students can return to it. “What must be understood is that following the inspection carried out this morning, the experts understood that very thin layers of plaster had fallen in certain places and that other falls could occur » in the ceiling of the pavilion, explained Monday evening the deputy general director for material resources management at the CSSDM, Stéphane Chaput.
“We could end up with continuous fall risks for a while,” he added. However, even if the plaster remains in the attic of the building, its fall releases dust which could inconvenience students and employees.
In this context, the students concerned will therefore have to stay at home until next Monday, before subsequently having access to a temporary school, indicates a communication sent this Monday to the parents concerned that The duty was able to consult.
“In order to continue to provide a healthy and safe learning environment, we have made the decision to temporarily relocate, starting Monday, September 18, students and staff members to the transitional spaces of the Sans school. -Borders,” specifies the document, which is signed by the director of the primary school, Marie-Hélène Aubé.
“These spaces, located in Rosemont near our school, are perfectly suited to holding our educational activities,” adds the communication. A transportation service will also be offered to students who need it to get to their classes.
Until the students of the Normanville pavilion have access to this temporary school, an emergency childcare service will be offered free of charge to the parents concerned. “Fortunately, we are still at the start of the year, all of the learning content can be resumed when returning to class,” adds the document.
The cost of the upcoming work in this pavilion has not yet been evaluated, but Stéphane Chaput ensures that the CSSDM has a sufficient budget to cover the expenses that will be linked to this unforeseen project.