Grade 6 students drummed and sang an Indigenous song Monday as construction began on a replacement Cedar Hill Middle School in Saanich.
The new school is scheduled to open in September 2025 in front of the existing school, which has stood on the Cedar Hill Road property for 92 years.
The Grade 6 students will be part of the first Grade 8 cohort at the new $53.5-million school, designed to have space for 575 students in Grades 6-8 — up from the current 500 students.
Site preparation for the new school has been underway for the past few months on playing fields in front of the existing facility, which will stay open until the replacement building is complete.
The current school building, which was the original Mount Douglas Secondary and then Cedar Hill Junior High before changing to a middle school in 2004, was designated for replacement in part because of seismic shortcomings, and will be demolished when the new school is finished.
Some areas of the school have an H-1 seismic rating — the highest level of earthquake vulnerability.
Principal Maryanne Trofimuk said staff and students were invited to have a say in what the new school will be like, as were the four feeder elementary schools for Cedar Hill.
The final design includes an open concept, where groups of classrooms are in centralized areas to form “learning neighbourhoods.”
Parent Advisory Council vice-president Andrea Chan, who has a son in Grade 6 at the school, said she is excited that work is underway. “It’s wonderful to hear that it’s actually happening and my son will be able to benefit in his Grade 8 year,” she said. “Seeing how far schools have come and how they make them so beautiful and open is great.”
Teacher Jennifer Reeson, who has been at Cedar Hill Junior High and Cedar Hill Middle School for a combined 31 years, said a replacement school is definitely needed. “This building has served us well but it’s time for a new one,” she said.
Reeson said she enjoyed being involved in the design process and is looking forward to seeing the new school begin to take shape.
Education Minister Rachna Singh said the current school building “has been at the heart of the Cedar Hill neighbourhood for many decades.”
She said the new school will be the “greenest” school in the Greater Victoria School District, thanks to features such as solar panels, heat pumps and an emphasis on natural light — leading to 90 per cent less greenhouse-gas emissions than a typical school.
It will also include an Indigenous Welcome Centre, a hub for school and community activities with its own courtyard for outdoor learning, Singh said.
Greater Victoria School Board chair Nicole Duncan said the new school is an “essential part” of meeting current and projected enrolment in the area.
The project will feature two grass fields and a multi-use path along Cedar Hill Road with separated pedestrian and bike lanes.
Stained glass, student artwork and a wooden bench from the office will be moved from the old school to the new one.
Over the past six years, the district has completed seismic upgrades at Campus View and Braefoot elementaries. A seismic upgrade and expansion at Victoria High School is due for completion in January.
