St. Thomas Aquinas breaks ground on new high school

NORTH VANCOUVER—The work has begun on replacing a Catholic school nearly six decades old and 150 students too tight.

St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary School will be torn down and rebuilt as early as September 2019 for about $26 million.

Hundreds of students stepped outdoors on a rainy morning to watch Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, bless the site and dig a golden shovel into the ground to officially mark the start of construction Oct. 25.

"We have faith that what is most important in any school – the community that inhabits it – if it is built on the strong foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it will indeed withstand all things and be a true beacon of light for the community," he said.

"We know that all projects must begin, be accompanied by, and be finished in prayer. As the Psalmist says, unless the Lord build the house, unless the Lord build the school, in vain do its labourers work."

St. Thomas Aquinas school is a series of disconnected buildings including classrooms built in the 1950s, an old convent given to the school in 2000, and a science wing added in 2004. 

The classrooms, built for about 450 students and now struggling to accommodate about 600, will be torn down and rebuilt. The convent will be renovated into an arts centre, and a new sports field and track will be installed. The relatively new science wing will stay put.

North Vancouver mayor Darrell Mussato said he is proud of the school.

"St. Thomas Aquinas is one of the best schools in British Columbia," he told students, school staff, fundraisers, pastors, and a school band assembled outside. "It's a wonderful school in the past and continues to be a great institution."

The need to rebuild STA surfaced after the Archdiocese of Vancouver commissioned a survey of the seismic safety of all churches and schools in its bounds. Rather than reinforce a 58-year-old school, Principal John Campbell told The B.C. Catholic it was best to rebuild. "I'm very excited."

Fundraising for the new Catholic school was helped along with large donations from Angus Reid (of the Angus Reid Institute) and his wife Margaret, as well as Clement and Docile Pelletier.