Archive

​3525 - 50 Street NW, Calgary AB T3A 2H3 (tentative)

Grades | Exceptional Needs 7-12 | Capacity 125 students

Anticipated Opening Date | Jan. 2017 

Christine Meikle School

This school is now open.

Construction Status

The construction status is updated using the Construction Projects Status Report that is presented monthly to the Board of Trustees.

December 2016

November 2016

Interior masonry walls complete with GWB partitions complete. ATCO gas line installed. Installation of window frames and glazing complete. Mechanical and electrical rough-ins, equipment installation and ducting complete. ENMAX transformer installed. Interior framing and masonry walls completed. Slabs on grade complete. Sprinkler installation complete. Excess stock pile material removed from site. Landscaping being completed. Progress on site continues to be good. Construction is on schedule for FF&E fit out in the Fall.  The project is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy by December 2016.

Project Background

• Foundations to the south wing are completed.
• The full Building Permit has been approved.
• Mobilization and construction began on site following the release of the partial Building Permit.
• Following the tender reviews by Alberta Infrastructure and the recommendation approved by the Board of Trustees, Starcraft Construction Ltd. was awarded the construction contract in mid-April 2015.
• Tenders closed on March 19, 2015.
• Design development has been completed.
• September 16, 2014 – Development permit application submitted to the City of Calgary
• Feb. 2014 - The provincial kick-off meeting occurred
• Feb. 2014 - A provincial program charrette was held as part of a value management exercise to gather information on the project.
• Resource Planning Group has been retained to complete the functional program for the project.

Construction and Design

• Starcraft Construction Ltd.
• Project Manager - Stantec Consulting Ltd.
• Prime Consultants - Marshall Tittemore Architects

Project History

• August 2014 - A Statement of Claim has been registered by a group of residents who are opposed to the development. No judgement has been made by the courts. ^{(April 14, 2015)}
• Ongoing, the information has also been reported in monthly construction updates on the CBE’s public website.
• March 2014 - the CBE’s Capital Plan is presented to the Board of Trustees at their public board meeting.
• February 2014, the Christine Meikle project, including site plans were contained in documents presented to at a Board of Trustees meeting as part of an accommodation planning briefing.
• January 21, 2014, Alberta Infrastructure announced funding for a replacement school for the Christine Meikle facility.
• March 13, 2013, the Ministers of Education and Infrastructure and the City of Calgary were told that CBE intended to use the site for Christine Meikle School, if the school was approved by the Province from the CBE Three-Year School Capital Plan.
• September 20, 2012, the CBE requested that site be returned as the need for schools rapidly expanded in the city. The City of Calgary approved our request.
• 2010, a replacement school for Christine Meikle was identified and documented in the CBE Capital Plan.
• November 2007, the CBE declared the site surplus to its needs. However, the City of Calgary never took title or changed its school designation.
• 1971, the site in Varsity was designated as a school site.

Working with Community

• Sept. 17, 2014 – Design presentation and open house
• August 6, 2014 – Public engagement and open house
• June 18, 2014 – Public engagement and open house

School Community

Christine Meikle School provides educational programming for secondary school-age students who have moderate to severe developmental disabilities/delays with complex learning, medical and emotional needs.

The program is extremely important for the students and families that it serves and is a vital component of the CBE’s commitment to provide inclusive and personalized learning opportunities.

Programming components include: functional academics, work experience, activities of daily living, adaptive physical education, fine arts, assistive technology, augmentative communication and sensory motor development.

This program draws junior/senior high school students who are 12 to 19 years of age from all areas of Calgary. The school combines attributes of both educational and healthcare facilities to meet the complex learning needs of its students.

School Facility

The existing Christine Meikle School is located at 64 - 12 St. N.E. in a 55-year-old facility that is not suitable for its current programming purpose. The facility was not originally designed to accommodate the school program, nor the highly-specialized equipment required to serve our students with complex special education needs. The hallways and rooms are not large enough for the equipment and wheelchairs used by the students.

The replacement school is planned for an approved vacant CBE school space in Varsity Acres. The site is west of 50 Street and north of Varna Crescent N.W. on a CBE-owned school site that is zoned for educational purposes.

The new site is a favourable location because of its proximity to Alberta Children’s Hospital. Christine Meikle School students are medically stable adolescents who have the ongoing need for medical services and other supports. The community of support for these students and their families is centred around the Alberta Children’s Hospital, including Ronald McDonald House, and Sinneave Family Foundation’s Ability Hub, which provides supports to students with Autism Spectrum Disorders their families and CBE staff.  It is important for these students to be close and part of this community.