Manitoba's Sioux Valley school closed after wild storm ripped roof off
A fierce storm earlier this month ripped the roof off a school in a southwestern Manitoba First Nation, leaving twisted metal covering the playground and forcing the school to shut its doors with just a few weeks of classes left in the school year.
Winds during the June 6 storm were strong enough to take off part of the roof at the back of Sioux Valley Elementary School and slam it down on the front, bringing a chain-link fence to the ground.
"It is devastating," Rosita Wasicuna-Smoke, the principal of the kindergarten to Grade 8 school, said Tuesday, as her voice broke with emotion.
The school is 40 years old. She's been there for 26 of those years, starting as an educational assistant.
A view from the front of Sioux Valley Elementary School. Classes have been cancelled for the end of the school year due to the damage to the building. (Michele McDougall/CBC)
"I'm feeling it in my heart, because this is home."
Wasicuna-Smoke and Crystal Hansen, the elementary school's director of education, said they were grateful the storm happened on a Saturday, and not during class.
Strong storms that began that weekend brought winds over 100 km/h to parts of Manitoba, along with heavy rains and flooding.
Hansen got an alarm call from the security company that day. Then she started getting text messages with photos.
"It truly was shocking," Hansen said. "The damage was devastating."
At least two classrooms were damaged, along with the gymnasium and school's kitchen, where rain poured through holes in the roof. Pieces of metal, wood and insulation are strewn around the school grounds.
Sioux Valley Elementary School principal Rosita Wasicuna-Smoke said having to close the school is devastating for students and staff. (Michele McDougall/CBC)
The school is now closed for the 340 kindergarten to Grade 8 students and about 90 staff members. With only a few weeks left in the school year, classes have been cancelled. That's a hardship for many, said Wasicuna-Smoke.
"Some students that are at home now, a lot of them are special needs and have that need for regulation," the principal said.
"For some of them, this is their safe spot, this is their place. And not being able to have that and not be able to have staff come in and continue with their daily activities, it is hard. It is felt all around."
Instead of students roaming the halls for those last weeks, insurance adjusters and an engineer, along with maintenance staff, have been in and out of the school in areas deemed safe.
Crystal Hansen, the director of education at Sioux Valley Elementary School, hopes to see a new school for Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. (Michele McDougall/CBC)
Teachers were only recently allowed inside to collect their books and laptops so they can complete their year-end assessments and finish report cards.
Students in grades 9 to 12 aren't affected by the damage — they attend classes in trailers across the street from the elementary school. Pre-schoolers are in a building next door.
The damage to the K-8 school is raising hopes for the construction of a new building that would bring all students in one place.
Having classes in trailers isn't "conducive to mental wellness," said Hansen, who moved to Sioux Valley last year. There was already talk of a new school at that point.
Fierce winds on June 6 were strong enough to rip part of the roof off the back of Sioux Valley elementary school, shown here on Tuesday. (Michele McDougall/CBC)
"As we come to the end of this school year, some things have ended beyond our control. We have no control over what has happened here," Hansen said.
"But it has pushed us into our vision for a new school for Sioux Valley. And the students need it, and they deserve it."
As Wasicuna-Smoke waits for the reports from the engineer and insurance company, the plan is to go ahead with some activities for the last week of school, including a solstice feast on Monday, a Brandon field trip on Tuesday and academic awards on Wednesday. There will also be a special commemoration of the Battle of Little Bighorn on Thursday and Friday.
"That's our plan to end our school year in a good way, for the students and teachers, to build morale," said Wasicuna-Smoke.
"That's how we'll go — just play it by ear and go day to day."
Thumbnail courtesy of Michele McDougall/CBC.
The story was originally written by Michele McDougall and published for CBC News.