New South East High School for Seton

It's been a decade since a new public high school was constructed on the south side of Calgary. That will all change with the opening of a new high school in Seton.

The as-yet unnamed school is expected to open in September of 2018. Plans will be presented at a New Schools Open House from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on Wed. Dec 2 hosted by the Calgary Board of Education at their building at 1221 – 8 St SW.

New projects showcased during the open house include other public schools, such as elementary schools for the community of Martindale in the North East, Silverado in the South West, and an elementary/middle school for Springbank Hill and Discovery Ridge. These communities have designated space for new schools. Martindale has been waiting for 25 years for a new school.

Proposed designs for these buildings will be presented to the public. There will be no formal presentation; however parents are invited to see the exhibit for a preliminary look at the Board's future plans. Free parking for the occasion is available in the underground parkade off 12 Ave SW.

As yet, the CBE has not formalized information such as grade configurations or assigned specific communities to each school with appropriate walk zones.

The last public school built in the south end of Calgary was Centennial High School, which opened in 2005 in the community of Sundance. The school was dubbed Centennial because it opened on the 100^th anniversary of Alberta becoming a province.

Four years prior in 2001, Bishop O'Byrne Catholic Senior High School opened in Somerset. These two schools were the first high schools to be built in the south part of Calgary since Dr. E.P. Scarlett Senior High School was constructed in 1971.

Currently, all CBE students living south of Marquis de Lorne Trail/Highway 22x must bus to Centennial, Dr. E.P. Scarlett or Lord Beaverbrook Senior High School in the Calgary community of Acadia.

Seton is also the site of the City of Calgary's new recreation complex which is also scheduled to open in 2018 next to the high school. This 330,000 square foot facility will offer a blend of leisure activity, sports, culture and recreational amenities for residents of Seton, Mahogany, Legacy, Auburn Bay and Cranston. The south east LRT station is expected to provide service to the multi-purpose, multi-generational community facility.

A library is also planned for the Seton Rec Centre, which is the working name for the project. This library will be 25,000 square feet in size, with space for community use, meetings and library programs.

The far South East where Seton is located was identified by the City of Calgary as an underserved area in terms of indoor recreation. The new rec centre will include:

• Diving tank and 10-lane swimming pool
• Splash park
• Leisure pool
• Steam room and hot tubs
• Two ice skating/hockey rinks
• Gymnasiums
• Fitness centre and aerobics/yoga studio
• Run/walk indoor track
• Classrooms and meeting space
• Youth centre
• Art studio and gallery space
• Theatre with 300 seat capacity
• Child care
• Food and beverage services