Western News: April 09, 2019

WESTERN NEWS Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Tuesday April 9 2019 21
WITH MARY IN FAITH
TĀTOU KO MERE E WHAKAPONO ANA
A NEW MARIAN COLLEGE FOR 2023
MESSAGE FROM
THE BOARD
The Marian College Board is pleased
to share the Bishop’s decision to
relocate Marian College to north west
Christchurch on a three hectare site.
Our new College will neighbour St
Joseph’s Primary School on land
bordered by Vagues Road, Main North
Road and Northcote Road, with the main
entrance off Lydia Street.
The new school is projected to cost in
excess of $20 million and students are
expected to start in February 2023.
The Bishop said finding a new home for
Marian College has always been one of
his main priorities. The purchase of the
former Foodstuffs warehouse property on
Northcote Road has made this possible.
He indicated scoping and design work
will begin ready for when possession of
the land takes place in April 2021.
The news is exciting and very positive
for Marian College and the changes are
going to further strengthen and grow our
Catholic community.
Thank you to the Bishop on behalf of
Marian College for his commitment to
our future, and to the Catholic Diocese
of Christchurch for its steady support
over the years.
The Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, Paul
Martin and Marian College Principal Mary-
Lou Davidson visiting Marian College’s
new Papanui site.
Thank you also to our school community
for your loyalty and patience and to all
the schools, businesses and communities
who have supported Marian since the
earthquakes. It means a lot to us.
We look forward to the challenges the
next four years bring us and to having
closer working relationships with St
Joseph’s School Papanui and our brother
school St Bede’s College.
Tātou ko Mere e whakapono ana
With Mary in faith
Jan Paterson
Marian College Board of Trustees Chair
SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
What will the new school look like?
It is too early to say just yet. What we do know is that we intend to ensure the Catholic
special character, values, heritage and story of Marian is incorporated and reflected in our
new school’s grounds and buildings. While we are fortunate to be getting a new school –
the heart of Marian College will remain the same.
Our new Forde Block (Social Sciences and Careers), which opened at the beginning
of this year, combines the best of traditional and open-plan classroom settings within a
multi-functional and sound-proof learning environment. So far, the feedback from students
and teachers has been positive, so it’s likely our new school will have similarly designed
classrooms.
Will there be opportunities for input into the new school?
Yes. We will be engaging with our school community and gathering ideas in coming
months.
Why is it taking until 2023 to get a new school?
The newly purchased site is currently tenanted and the lease expires in 2021. The Catholic
Diocese of Christchurch will then take possession of the land. In the meantime, there will
be valuable time for consultation, scoping and design work, before construction starts.
Will travel to and from the new school be more difficult?
Our new site is conveniently located on main arterial roads including QEII Drive and the
ring road to Eastern and seaside suburbs, Main North Road through to North Canterbury
as well as the Orbiter bus route. Connecting cycleways include the Papanui Parallel
Cycleway, Northern Line Cycleway and QEII Shared Cycleway.
By the time our new school is ready, the Christchurch Northern Corridor will be open. It is
expected this road will significantly reduce traffic volumes on Main North Road – by up to
50 per cent. It will also create an opportunity for the city council to make changes to Main
North Road resulting in improved public transport journey times.
Access to transport is an important part of our planning. We are confident that our families
will have suitable transport options for students travelling from more than 30 of our feeder
primary schools - families living in Central and East Christchurch, the seaside suburbs and
North Canterbury.
My daughter is currently a senior student at Marian – will she feel left out?
A wonderful aspect of Marian College is how supportive and understanding our school
community is through periods of change. We often say: “once a Marian girl, always a
Marian girl”. Marian College will be making every effort to include all students in the
shaping of our new school - regardless of whether they will be attending. We are asking
past students and staff of Marian College and also our founding schools St Mary’s College
(Christchurch) and McKillop College, to provide valuable input into what the new school
will look like.
Register on the school website www.mariancollege.school.nz/About-1/Past-StudentsStaff
to be kept up-to-date.
We welcome your questions
Please check the school website and follow us on Facebook. If we haven’t answered
what you need to know – email exec@mariancollege.school.nz and we will respond to
your question as soon as possible.
Left: Indicative location of the new Marian
College site in Papanui.
Above and below:
Marian College students and staff respond
to the wonderful news.
Haere mai! Talofa lava!
Welcome!
You are invited to
Marian College
For more details visit
mariancollege.school.nz
facebook.com/mariancollegechch
www.mariancollege.school.nz |03 385 8449 | exec@mariancollege.school.nz | follow us! www.facebook.com/mariancollegechch