Students move into renovated Wonowon School

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The new Wonowon School has four large classrooms. (Submitted by Stephen Petrucci)

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C.— Wonowon School is up and running once more after an extensive makeover.

Stephen Petrucci, superintendent for School District 60, told Energeticcity.ca the “replacement school” is now fully functional and students are attending.

Upgrades and replacements to the existing school began in December 2024, with the provincial government providing funding close to $17 million.

The project was said to be providing bright and updated spaces for 20 additional students, including a water well and filtration system and ramps to make the school more accessible for people with disabilities.

Petrucci shared: “[The new school] is attached to the old gymnasium and the gymnasium is the only part of the old school that is going to be left.

“The replacement school has four large classrooms, a big open entrance and foyer that also serves as a library and it has some inclusion spaces, smaller rooms for group work.”

The school has several inclusion spaces for group work. (Submitted by Stephen Petrucci)

He said that the school is beautiful, open and of very good quality, with the overall replacement costing $15 million.

The new school was built for a couple of reasons, Petrucci shared.

“The older school was getting run down and it only had three classrooms. [The new] one has four and one of them will be used as a multi-use space.”

The multi-use space will also be used by a group of students in grades seven to nine.

He added: “It was to accommodate growth in enrollment as well as replace a very aging structure in terms of the classroom spaces. And so this is a significant upgrade with more room.”

For Petrucci, a feature of the new school that really stands out is the entrance and foyer.

“[The space] is used quite a bit by the community out there. There’s some capacity to have meals and host community events as well and having this big open foyer will really help with that,” he said.

The students moved into the new classroom last week. Petrucci said Jaclyn Gieni, principal at Wonowon School, told him the students are delighted.

He said: “Students and staff are…very excited with just having more room and having the most modern upgrades and equipment for the school.”