Community Engagement Session

Dear Kentwood residents,

As you may be aware, Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools has been provided funding for the construction of a new middle school in the City of Red Deer. The school site in your community has been chosen for the location of the new school, St. Lorenzo Ruiz Middle School. The location of the new school was selected to support current and future student populations in the community

Work has begun on the design of the school, with preliminary geotechnical testing completed in early 2021 to understand site conditions. To keep you informed on our progress, we are planning a community engagement session on Tuesday, April 6 at 5:00 p.m.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. Interested attendees can join the Zoom meeting link (Meeting ID: 950 5484 1129 and Passcode: i2RDy0).

The intent of this engagement session is to provide a forum for community feedback and an opportunity to voice concerns with the overall design. This first engagement session will focus primarily on the site layout.

St. Lorenzo Ruiz Middle School facts:

• The school will be a two-storey design to accommodate 700 middle school students. 
• The school is planned to follow a traditional school year and will operate as a closed campus.
• The school site will provide parking lots to staff and visitors, with a potential student drop-off lane within the visitor parking lot.
• The current playground and skating rink will be retained on-site, and the retention pond will not be altered.
• Additional playground space is intended to be installed, including a proposed basketball pad.
• Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools will provide the opportunity for user groups to rent the facility after hours and on weekends.
• Construction is expected to start later this Fall 2021, with the school opening September 2023.

Should you have any questions please feel free to contact Rod Steeves, Secretary-Treasurer at 403-343-1055.