The school year will start as scheduled at Bethlehem Catholic High School following a fire last week that caused significant damage, the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division says. Crews were called to the school at 110 Bowlt Crescent around 10:30 p.m. last Friday. Saskatoon police say the fire is believed to be suspicious and an arson investigator is working on the case. Christian Garcia, who will be starting at Bethlehem this fall, said news of the fire came as a shock. “I got a notification on my group chat, like, dude, the Bethlehem school is on fire. And then I checked, and there’s just a whole bunch of videos,” Garcia said. He said he was initially worried the fire would impact his classes, but now feels “everything should be fine.” Bethlehem students, including Garcia, will return to class as scheduled on Sept. 2, according to Diane Boyko, chair of Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools. “Our staff has worked really hard to ensure that students will have that experience that they always have on the first day,” Boyko said. She said some modifications will be needed. The division is still working out details, adding more information will be provided to staff and parents next week. The fire caused extensive damage to the school’s portable classrooms, with four under construction completely destroyed. Boyko says several of the other 22 portable classrooms sustained water and smoke damage. She said there was also water and smoke damage to parts of the main school building, but work is underway to have it cleaned up before the start of the school year. Boyko added mental-health supports are available for students and staff, and the quality of students’ education will not be affected. She adds the division is grateful to the firefighters, police and crews working to get the school ready for students. “It’s hard to believe it’s only been a week since all of this has happened, but everyone has just stepped up to the plate, and the Division is so grateful for all of those partnerships that we have,” she said.
