- What does the Jim Pattison Foundation require from us?
-
The Jim Pattison Foundation is graciously coming alongside Cedars and providing us with a 4:1 matching of our donations up to a total contribution of $2.3 million. We are required to raise $600,000 in donations. Fortunately, we have already raised $350,000 since 2008.
The Jim Pattison Foundation will review and approve the final building plan and budget prior to the commencement of project funding and will receive monthly project status and financial updates until the expansion is complete.
We are also required to go into no further debt beyond our existing mortgage.
- How did you decide on this expansion?
-
In 2008, we spent many evenings sharing our vision for a new school on our new property. You may remember the beautiful drawings, videos and plans we presented at that time. The only thing that kept us from building it was a lack of funds. We raised $300,000 but it was not enough money for such a big project without going into a substantial amount of debt, which we did not want to do.
In 2009, we found out that the City of Prince George was going to change their flood plain bylaws which would mean that if we ever wanted to build on our property we would have to raise the level of land by as much as 1.5 meters. This would add significant cost to any expansion in our future so we immediately put together some plans and submitted them to the City of Prince George so that we remained under the old flood plain bylaws for our building permit.
The 4:1 matching donation from the Pattison Foundation is just enough for us to successfully build this expansion without having to bring in additional fill.
- What about the Flood Plain?
-
Of course, you may be thinking, “OK, but what if we get another flood?” We thought of that as well. The flood in 2007 from the freeze-up on the Nechako River was the most severe flooding this area has received in many years and water did not approach the area where we are currently building. In fact, the only water we experienced in our existing facility was through ground seepage into our crawl space and we experienced no damage to our facility (except a few sore muscles and backs from piling sandbags).
- How did you come up with this plan?
-
This plan was created by a local Prince George structural engineer. Our engineer has designed and been a part of building more than 30 schools all over the world. He met with several staff, the school board and the admin team in February 2009. He then put together multiple drafts of this plan which these staff members reviewed.
After we received confirmation of our miracle donation from the Pattison Foundation in August 2010, we moved into a more specific and detailed design process. In September 2010, the staff shared a document on Google Docs entitled, “Staff Ideas for the New Building”. More than 25 staff shared ideas in this collaborative document on the detail of what to include in this new space. The process had synergy.
In October 2010, the admin team and the main stake holders (PE teachers, Electives teachers) met again with the engineer and we are in the process of finalizing the building plans which should be completed within the next few months. Our goal is to build as much as we possibly can while remaining within our budget of $2.6 million.
- Why a gym and applied skills classrooms?
-
For many years we have developed a quality program in several significant areas of our school. However, the quality of our facility has not matched the quality of our program and for years we have utilized portables for wood shop, off site locations for home economics and an elementary gymnasium for high school classes and teams.
We have found it difficult to share one gymnasium, playing field and outdoor play area with high school and elementary school classes. All of our students have spent many rainy days outside for PE! This expansion will solve these problems and allow the elementary exclusive use of their gym.
- Why the Renovations to the old building?
-
We want our new expansion and our current building to look as though they go together. In order to give our current facility an upgrade, we have set aside $300,000 so that when the new building is complete the entire school will feel new. This renovation budget is included in the total project budget of $2.9 million.
- What are the best features?
-
- a full sized gymnasium with change rooms
- new programming for PE and Fitness
- proper storage for PE equipment, uniforms, utility
- all classrooms are multi-purpose allowing flexibility in programming
- classrooms for applied skills courses
- technology integration
- updating of flooring and paint in our current facility
- How much will this cost?
-
Our total project cost must be under 2.9 million dollars. We need 10% of our budget to be set aside for a contingency fund (unknown and unexpected problems after we begin) so we will need to be very careful and intentional about budgeting for this project.
Our goal is to build as much facility as we can while remaining within our budget. Gifts in kind (cabinetry, windows, doors, equipment, materials, donated labour from trades etc) will be a very important part of keeping us inside our budget for this project.
- Will our tuition rise?
-
One of the amazing things about this project is that we will complete it with no additional debt. It is unusual in British Columbia for an independent school to build an expansion with no new debt. This is a privilege and we must treasure this opportunity. Our operating budget will be affected by this new building (heat, lights, maintenance) but a small increase in student enrolment can offset this amount.
However, the cost of providing Christian education will continue to rise and therefore tuition must also increase in order to offer excellence in programming at Cedars. We have one of the lowest tuition rates of SCSBC schools in BC. We must ensure our tuition rates allow Cedars to be sustainable for the future generations who will learn about Jesus from our staff in these buildings.
- What is the Cedars’ History?
-
Cedars Christian School has a rich history of faithful and visionary people leading our school to become what it is today. September 1977 marked the beginning of grades 1 to 7 at Cedars Christian School with 75 students. This was made possible only after years of struggle and prayer by a few persistent and dedicated people. By 1982 the school had expanded to grade 9 and had begun a kindergarten class. A major building program was undertaken in 1983 in which a new gymnasium and several new classes were added.
In 1990 a second addition of two large classrooms, a library, washroom facilities and a new office was constructed. In 1996, a 3rd addition into a brand new building housing a new high school and expanding into grade 11 and grade 12. Over the years many exciting and new programs have been established at Cedars such as Learning Assistance, Music, Video and Technology, Home Economics, and international student exchange programs. French is taught in both elementary and secondary classes and a Christ-centered Family Life course has been developed for each level in our school.
- What Do We Believe?
-
The basis for the instruction offered at Cedars Christian School is the Word of God. We believe that the Bible, the written Word of God, is the power that directs our lives and is the infallible authority that is to govern all our activities including the education of our children.
Through the Scriptures we know that God created all things by His Word and that He continues faithfully to uphold and sustain all of created reality. We believe that man through sin and disobedience became estranged from God and thus became blind to the true meaning of life and reality. Jesus Christ, the Word of God Incarnate, reconciles the world to God and redeems our lives in their entirety. The purpose of Christian education is to guide and direct the children in such a way that they commit their hearts and lives to Christ, come to an integral and meaningful knowledge of the wonderful creation God has given us, and are prepared in all life's aspects to serve God and their neighbours. We believe that God has primarily given parents a responsibility to nurture and educate their children. Cedar's primary purpose is to assist parents to fulfill this educational task. Cedars Christian School presently offers programs from preschool to grade 12.
Cedars follows the BC Ministry of Education core curriculum which is taught from an inter-denominational Biblical perspective. Students who attend Cedars throughout their school years are well equipped with the knowledge, skills, and insights necessary for responsible citizenship in BC. More importantly, they are particularly well equipped for responsible citizenship in the Kingdom of Christ within a secular society.
High expectations characterize all facets of Cedars' educational program. This does not mean that only bright students succeed. Rather, it means that at Cedars we expect all students to work hard at developing the particular gifts and abilities God has given them.
Learn more