Location of the new Chelsea elementary school: the CSSPO wants to maintain the three existing soccer fields

Press release from the Centre de services scolaire des Portages-de-l’Outaouais.

Gatineau, April 11, 2024. –  Seeking to harmoniously integrate the new primary school into the Municipality of Chelsea, the Centre de services scolaire des Portages-de-l’Outaouais (CSSPO) has concluded, after analysis, that the school could be built in a way that spares the three existing soccer fields.

Preliminary site studies conducted by the CSSPO indicate that the school could be built near Cécil and du Relais roads. Furthermore, since the Municipality of Chelsea has allowed for street-side drop-off areas, the accessibility to the building would not be compromised. Consequently, the professional staff of the CSSPO are able to position the school, its parking lot, and its yard in a way that does not encroach upon the space of the three existing soccer fields. The CSSPO will submit this location to the Ministry of Education, which will need to give its approval.

It is worth noting that the site targeted by the Municipality of Chelsea and the CSSPO will accommodate a new primary school with 16 classrooms, capable of accommodating approximately 380 students from preschool to 6th grade. Families in the surrounding neighborhoods will benefit from a nearby educational facility, which will also serve community needs. The chosen location will promote active transportation, such as walking and biking.

The CSSPO received approval from the Ministry of Education in the summer of 2023 for a new school in Chelsea. The project design will commence in the coming months to anticipate an opening in 2026.

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Information:

Maude Hébert

Communications Coordinator

General Secretariat and Communications Department

Centre de services scolaire des Portages-de-l’Outaouais

819 771-4548, ext 850711

communications@csspo.gouv.qc.ca

For more information, please visit the Centre de services scolaire des Portages-de-l’Outaouais Website.