Students at Ecole Good Shepard school will soon be able to enjoy a new and improved gym space after the existing facility was shut down early in the start of the current school year.

Scott Morrison, Superintendent for Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools, says a routine upgrade inspection lead to the discovery of bigger problems.

"We were doing a routine upgrade of the fire system, and the installer that went into the ceiling of the gym looked at the roof structure and didn't think it was adequate. We brought in a structural engineer, and he said the gym shouldn't be occupied. As soon as we heard that, we shut it down the next day and had it properly inspected. It was recommended that it had to be remediated to be used," he said.

Construction of the new sprung structure has been underway since the gym was originally shut down, and Morrison says they hope to occupy the new space by February 15th.

Morrison says the location of the new structure was chosen due to a required playground upgrade.

"It's on top of a playground that was out of date and scheduled for replacement or relocation already. That was the ideal place, because it was already our land," he said.

He adds the existing gym has been an ongoing issue, due to being less than 500 square metres, creating issues for accommodating a student body of over 800. The new structure will be 800 square metres, allowing for combined learning activities and events.

The construction project to restore the current gym in Good Shepard is said to be anywhere from a two to four year project, with a price tag of five million dollars after approval, which they are still waiting on.

Morrison says the structure being put in place will allow for physical education to continue through that process, and enhance programming for the students.

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