End of an era: 145-year-old St. Agatha school closes for good

St. Agatha school to close after this school year From CTV Kitchener: Waterloo District Catholic School board Trustees decide to mothball small rural school

The last day of school is always an emotional one for students.

But June 30^th was especially difficult at St. Agatha Catholic Elementary School.

Trustees decided earlier this year to close the 145-year-old school. Attendance was low, with just 82 students. The school also needed improvements which were estimated in the millions.

“Today has been really sad,” said grade one student Kyla Cormier.

“There were a few tears this morning at the assembly,” said teacher LeeAnn Becker. “Everyone’s really proud of what we’ve done here at St. Agatha and they’re going home with lots of great memories.”

At the end of the day students gathered to say goodbye to their friends and teachers.

“I’m happy that I’m going to meet a lot of new friends but I’m sad that I’m going to have to say goodbye to a lot of friends,” said Kyla. “It’s kind of stressful.”

Principal Mary Myer, who is also retiring, says the students are prepared for their new schools.

“They’ve been visiting their other schools. The principals all welcomed them and they made friends already so I’m confident they’ll make a smooth transition.”

With reporting from Tyler Calver and Marc Venema