Palsson’s population of pupils is growing.
Over the last several of years, the number of people moving to Lake Cowichan has grown and with it, the need for more space at the town’s K-3 school. For the last two years the school has seen a sharp increase to roughly 60 kindergarten students a year and that increase in student enrolment has meant the need for a physical expansion at the school. That means a portable classroom will be installed at Palsson over the summer.
”Bringing in a new portable classroom allows the school to facilitate growth this year, as well as being able to keep the local community StrongStart program on school property,” explained Cowichan Valley School District spokesperson Mike Russell. “The new portable will be installed adjacent to the other portables on the site ensuring it is installed as an accessible building. Moving the portable to this position requires the removal of a small section of the foliage and smaller trees that border the school field in the school district’s Friendship Forest.”
For safety, at times over the summer parts of the Friendship Forest path adjacent to the school may be closed.
“Otherwise the forest will remain intact and accessible to the community during the installation of the portable classroom,” Russell noted. “The district knows what a special shared resource its Friendship Forest is for the Lake Cowichan community. Staff are working to ensure that changes to the forest, and any necessary temporary closures, are minimized as we continue to create new space to accommodate continued community growth.”