Whispering Ridge Community School (WRCS) welcomed back its playschool and Grade 1 students and staff this morning after a lengthy stay at the Grande Prairie Alliance Church.

The playschool and Grade 1 students had been learning out of the Grande Prairie Alliance Church since April 2021, due to a fire that broke out, destroying two modular classrooms and damaging three more.

Now that the new modular classrooms are open and ready for students, WRCS Administration looks back on the challenges their students and staff faced and overcame. Assistant Principal Abby Stilwell sends a big thank you to, “The Grande Prairie Alliance Church for welcoming us with open arms, and making us feel like family, to the County Fire Departments who responded to the fire and donated thousands of dollars’ worth of replacement toys and items, and to the Clairmont Community School for lending us furniture to set up temporary classrooms at the church and for offering to provide classrooms if we needed them.”

The school would also like to thank:

·WRCS parents for rallying together and collecting donations for the temporary classrooms, and for showing extra love and compassion to the teaching staff.

·Winmar for being extremely helpful and diligent in helping staff get everything restored and back to new.

·David Michalko, PWPSD Director of Facilities, who worked very hard supporting the staff and ensuring their school was as good as new.

·Ted Gobin, PWPSD Director of Transportation, and bus drivers Tanya and Bev, for looking after transportation to and from the church each day.

·WRCS staff for being so kind and flexible throughout the last nine months.

The students and staff are equally excited to be back at WRCS and to start 2022 in their new classrooms.

Whispering Ridge Community School

Information provided by Peace Wapiti Public School Division