By Charlotte MacAulay
charlotte@peicanada.com

Being all back under one roof, after a year of upheaval is a step in the right direction, but Morell Consolidated still needs some attention from the school board, some parents say.
Michelle Gouthro said she is glad her children, who were moved to Morell Consolidated when St Theresas closed in 2009, only to be moved again when the Morell school closed last January due to mold issues, will finally be settled, but the fact that the school lost one full time teacher in this process, puts the students and staff at a disadvantage.
“When our school (St Theresas) closed we were promised more teachers and a better student/teacher ratio,” she said.
The opposite happened as Morell lost one full time position and class sizes increased.
Those big class sizes aren’t good for the students, parent Patty Vandiepen said.
“Teachers are still able to deliver a strong education program, but there are 32 special needs students in a student population of 220 and we need that other position filled 100 per cent,” Ms Vandiepen said.
The Morell Home and School has been advocating to get the position back and will continue to do so until something is done, Ms Gouthro said.
Both women were at the school Tuesday providing lunch for staff as they prepared the school for the return of students on February 1.
The school was closed in January 2011 when mold was found creating concerns over air quality and health issues.
Cost of the completed renovations was set at $1.2 million.
While the students from kindergarten to Grade 8 were well looked after in the St. Peter’s School and the Morell High School, Morell Consolidated principal Leo Hendricken said everyone will be happy to continue the rest of the year back on their home turf, together.
Students are looking forward to it and so are staff, he said.
“Running between two schools doing administrative duties made for some very busy days in the past year,” Mr Hendricken said.
With everyone under one roof they can get back to routine again, he said.

Photo: Dennis Watts, a technician with Provincial IT Share Services was hooking up the computer network at Morell Consolidated Tuesday morning in preparation for the students return this week. The school has more than 60 computers.       Charlotte MacAulay photo