Merritt Central Elementary back together for first time since November floods

MERRITT, B.C. — Over the past four months, students at Central Elementary School have been forced to learn in church basements and spare rooms, as their school was hard hit by the November floods. But this week, as kids returned from spring break, they officially came back together under one roof at the old Coquihalla Middle School.

Principal Dan Duncan immediately saw the difference in the kids and staff.

“Immediately. Yesterday was amazing, we all got back, smiles, just hugs all over the place, a different vibe, the classroom setting is much different. Very excited,” said Duncan.

“I’m happy I get to see some older people as well, other than just younger people,” said Grade 5 student Mia Thompson. “And my classroom is much bigger.”

While students are back together and back in a proper school, a number of challenges still persist as the old middle school never expected to have a much younger and smaller population.

“It is a middle school, so built for learners in the middle years, where we have kindergarten students, things like the water fountains are a little to high, the toilets are a little to big, things like that. It is a middle school,” added Duncan.

As the school year will be finished at CMS, the work continues to return them to Central Elementary for the new school year in September.

“The school itself is coming along very, very well. It’s the grounds that really need a lot of work right now. Being so close to the river, the grounds, irrigation system and the residue left in the fields has been tremendous. We are really hopeful that, by summer, we are going to be ready to have Merritt Central return to its own site and I know they will be really happy about that. But we need to make sure that it is safe, that it is well prepared, and that it is really going to accommodate kids in the best way possible,” said SD58 Assistant Superintendent Jameel Aziz.

The motto of Principal Duncan has been ‘Different but Something’, a statement exemplified by his staff who have gone above and beyond during the past months, whether it was cooking the school meal program from home with support from family, or building a new library from scratch over spring break.

“It’s amazing; they have gone above and beyond for the students through this whole process,” stated Duncan.