Released on April 17, 2015
Today, representatives from the Ministry of Education, Regina Public Schools, City of Regina, and Regina Public Library joined elders, students, teachers and members of the community to celebrate the start of construction and officially unveil the name of the $42.2 million North Central Shared Facility.
The Mâmawêyatitân Centre was chosen as the new name of the integrated facility. Following broad consultation and an open call to the community for proposals, a group of linguistic elders met to discuss names and proposed “Mâmawêyatitân”- a Cree word for “let’s all be together.” The Centre will be located on the current site of Scott Collegiate and Albert-Scott Community Centre.
The 100,000 square foot space will include Scott Collegiate, a child care facility, city recreational complex, public library branch and community policing centre – allowing for access to more amenities and space than if each partner were to build stand-alone facilities.
The Government of Saskatchewan is contributing $31 million toward the project.
“The name is a reflection of the North Central Community and speaks to the services that the shared learning facility will provide the students and their families,” Education Minister Don Morgan said. “The Mâmawêyatitân Centre is an important investment for our government. It will provide unique opportunities for community members to become role models and mentors for the students.”
“Regina Public Schools is very pleased to continue to invest in the educational success of our students,” Regina Public Schools Chairperson Katherine Gagne said. “Scott Collegiate students at the Mâmawêyatitân Centre will have the unique opportunity to further engage in real world learning experiences through the Learning Across the Community model, which will lead to enhanced student attendance, credit completion and graduation rates.”
The City of Regina is committing $8.8 million toward the creation of the North Central Community Learning Centre.
“City Council and North Central residents are extremely proud of the spirit and sense of community in this neighbourhood,” Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said. “A state-of-the-art central hub that offers so many ways to come together and promote healthy involvement in the community is a new approach that we believe will pay significant dividends and show the rest of the city the good work that’s happening here.”
The library is investing $2.4 million to support the creation of the new public library branch.
"The Mâmawêyatitân Centre will engage the entire community through the integration of programs and services of many partner organizations to meet community needs,” Regina Public Library Board of Directors Chair Darryl Lucke said. “The library's role as a catalyst for community development is a perfect fit as we all join together to enhance the quality of life and celebrate the rich diversity of this community."
In Regina, this will be the first time a wide range of community services have come together to one urban community, and the first time that learning experiences will take place within one shared community.
It was also officially announced today that Quorex Construction Ltd. has been awarded the contract to build the Mâmawêyatitân Centre. P3Architecture has been leading the design of the project since 2011.
Construction is expected to be completed by the spring of 2017.
For more information, visit www.northcentralsharedfacility.ca.
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For more information, contact:
Kelly Johnston
Education
Regina
Phone: 306-787-1069
Email: kelly.johnston@gov.sk.ca
Terry Lazarou
Regina Public Schools
Regina
Phone: 306-523-3133
Email: terry.lazarou@rbe.sk.ca
Colleen Hawkesford
Regina Public Library
Regina
Phone: 306-777-6015
Email: chawkesford@reginalibrary.ca
Desirae Bernreuther
City of Regina
Regina
Phone: 306-777-7486
Email: dbernreu@regina.ca