Five months later, the children of Hornby Island are getting their classrooms back, or at least their interim replacements.
Four portable classrooms officially arrived on Hornby this week in preparation for students who lost their school due to fire last year.
Daniel Arbour, treasurer of the Hornby Island Education Society confirmed the portables arrived via barge from the mainland to the Island community and added they hope to be in use mid-February.
Last August, a fire broke out at the Hornby Island Community School and destroyed the gym and office area. Hornby Island fire chief Doug Chinnery said the back two-thirds of the building suffered serious smoke damage.
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While the first few days of classes of the school year were held at Tribune Bay Outdoor Education Centre, students and staff settled into their short-term spaces: the community hall and education society offices are both serving as classrooms, while a third nearby building is being used a the principal’s office.
Arbour said once staff and students settle into the new classrooms, conversations will start to discuss permanent school design, hopefully a couple of years away.
Squamish-based Westcoast Outbuildings created the portables, which equal a total of 5,300 square feet of space.
HIES started a School Renewal Fund to assist with financial gaps, as the school served not only the Island’s students but the larger community; as well as being the gym, it housed a natural history centre.
HIES is a registered charity and can provide donation receipts for any amounts about $50.
For more information or to donate, click here.
