Northglen Orchard Public School

We continue to be excited about the new Northglen Orchard Public School (PS) that will help support the growing student population in the Clarington area, with space for 769 students, from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8, as well as a four-room childcare centre.

Important Construction Update

At the November 25 Board of Trustees Meeting, school board administration brought forward a report updating the Board on the ongoing construction of the new Northglen Orchard Public School in Bowmanville.

As a result of multiple factors, administration shared with the Board that completion of the project is unfortunately delayed from its targeted opening of January 2026.

The issues identified as contributing to the delay include:

• electrical service delay (the boulevard electrical service installation remains incomplete)
• delayed installation of roof top units (installation originally scheduled for mid-September 2025 has been moved to late-November 2025), 
• structural revisions as part of the community stair construction, and
• paving completion (including subgrade preparations, drainage layers and cold-weather conditions for asphalt paving). 

Administration indicated that these factors together have contributed to slowing the overall sequencing of construction toward completion.

The existing contingency plans will remain in place until completion of the project. There will be a better understanding of the new expected opening date in the next couple of months.

We regret that the completion of the new school must be extended and recognize that these are complex capital projects influenced by many factors. We will continue to provide updates to the school community as construction progresses, and as we continue to look forward to moving into the new school.

Sonal Gohil
Superintendent of Education, Student Achievement

We continue to be excited about the new Northglen Orchard Public School (PS) that will help support our growing student population in the Clarington area, with space for 769 students, from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8, as well as a four-room childcare centre.

Colours and Mascot Survey
Clarington area students, staff, families and community members can still suggest school colours and mascot ideas for Northglen Orchard PS, until end of day July 7th. This information will be used to help inform collaborative conversations with students, staff and families this fall.
A survey link is available on the Northglen Orchard web page.

Class Information for September
Class and teacher information for Northglen Orchard PS students attending Charles Bowman PS, Harold Longworth PS and Clarington Intermediate School will be available in late August and will be shared directly with families by Northglen Orchard PS principal Nicholas Shea.

As communicated earlier this spring, students will remain together with the same teacher throughout next school year. To accommodate this planning within available school space, students and staff will be grouped by grades within these three grade clusters:

• Junior Kindergarten to Grade 2 Northglen Orchard students will attend Charles Bowman Public School
• Grade 3 to 6 Northglen Orchard students will attend Harold Longworth Public School, and
• Grade 7 Northglen Orchard students will attend Clarington Intermediate School (Note: Charles Bowman PS Grade 7 students will remain at Charles Bowman as that school transitions to JK to Grade 8)

Upon completion of the new school, students and staff will move to Northglen Orchard PS.

Child Care Programming
Compass Early Learning and Care (CELC) will be the operator of the child care centre and the before/after school program at Northglen Orchard PS. Compass ELC currently operates the before/after school programs at both Charles Bowman and Harold Longworth, and this will help make the transition smoother and more familiar for families. More information is available in the Q and A document online.

Welcome Event
Northglen Orchard families were invited to participate in a Welcome Event near the school property on Tuesday, June 17. This event included opportunities to meet school staff and participate in fun activities, as the school community begins to build connections and positive climate and culture. Thank you to all those who attended and contributed towards a successful event!

Construction Update
School construction is going well – with work on the school’s roof, mechanical, electrical, and exterior continuing over the summer.
• Exterior Cladding (Brick and Metal Siding) is set to begin mid-July, once insulation and membrane work wraps up, and will run until late September.
• Ceiling Fixture Installation and Suspension Grid Work is scheduled for mid-July through early September. This includes lighting, fire alarm devices, sprinklers, and ceiling grid systems.
• Interior Finishes such as painting, flooring, millwork, acoustic panels, and accessories are scheduled to begin in September.

The targeted building completion date is late November 2025, with occupancy by students and staff likely early in 2026.

We remain committed to providing regular updates to families and look forward to sharing more information this fall!

Pdf version

Northglen Orchard Public School Update – and Charles Bowman PS Bell Time 

At the start of May, the school board shared contingency plans for the delayed opening of Northglen Orchard PS, specifically about where students would be located until the new school opens.  

We recognize that the delay in the opening of Northglen Orchard PS, and the resulting contingency plan, impacts families in different ways, and we appreciate what families have shared about these specific impacts. The planning team has considered the questions and feedback provided and has developed a Questions and Answers document, posted on the Northglen Orchard web page. 

Bell Time Adjustment 

We have reviewed possible bell time adjustments to help address this concern from families. It is important to note that bell times directly affect transportation networks, and a change can impact buses that serve multiple school communities. 

After reviewing bell times, and connected transportation services, effective September 2025, the Charles Bowman PS bell time will be changed to 9:05 am, while the Harold Longworth PS bell time will remain at 9:15 am. 

Both Charles Bowman and Harold Longworth Public Schools have school staff on the yard fifteen minutes before bell times, to supervise students in the morning. The bell time adjustment, combined with supervision time, provides a 25-minute window between drop-off at Charles Bowman PS and bell time at Harold Longworth PS. 

Child Care Programming 

We also appreciate that families have been waiting for more information about child care planning. 

Compass Early Learning and Care (CELC) will now be the operator of the child care centre and the before/after school program at Northglen Orchard PS.  

Compass ELC currently operates the before/after school programs at both Charles Bowman and Harold Longworth, and this will help make the transition smoother and more familiar for families.  

We are working closely with Durham Region and Compass ELC to coordinate this transfer of care. More information is available in the Q and A document online. 

Thank you for your support as we look forward to the opening of Northglen Orchard Public School. 

Sincerely, 

Nina Jaiswal
Superintendent of Education: Student Achievement (Acting)

Contingency Planning: Northglen Orchard Public School

Hello everyone,

We are writing today to provide additional information about the updated timelines for building the new school. As we shared, while we will continue to work with the contractor to try and reduce delays wherever possible, at this time the updated timeline targets a building completion date of late November 2025. Students and staff would likely occupy the new school early in the new year.

The contingency plans outlined below have been developed to accommodate students and staff based on this revised schedule.

To allow for the least disruption for all students and staff within the school communities involved, Northglen Orchard Public School students and staff will be organized together as classes within nearby KPR schools, to be able to move together into the new school.

This will allow all classes to remain together as part of the move and keep students with the same teacher throughout the year. To accommodate this planning within available school space, students and staff will be grouped by grades within these three grade clusters:

• Junior Kindergarten to Grade 2 Northglen Orchard students will attend Charles Bowman Public School
• Grade 3 to 6 Northglen Orchard students will attend Harold Longworth Public School, and
• Grade 7 to 8 Northglen Orchard students will attend Clarington Intermediate School 
  (Note: Charles Bowman PS Grade 7 students will remain at Charles Bowman as that school transitions to JK to Grade 8)

Upon completion of the new school, students and staff will move to Northglen Orchard Public School.

Our child care partner in this project – Durham Region, is using this information to finalize their planning and communication with families. Further information on child care and before and after school program planning will be shared as soon as it’s available.

Transportation will be provided to students who reside more than 1.6 km from their designated school noted above, and parents can register their transportation request through the Opt-In process beginning May 2nd.

After completion of the new school, transportation will be provided as per board policy to students who reside more than 1.6 km from Northglen Orchard Public School. As part of the move to the new school, the Opt-In window will be reopened for families to finalize transportation prior to the first day at the new school.

We appreciate that families will have continued interest and questions as we move forward with our planning. We invite families to submit their questions to kpr_info@kprdsb.ca, and we will continue to provide regular updates to families directly, and on this dedicated Northglen Orchard Public School section of our website.

Sincerely,

Sonal Gohil
Superintendent of Education

Construction Update: Northglen Orchard Public School

Hello everyone,

We continue to be very excited about the new Northglen Orchard Public School, which will help support our growing student population in the Clarington area.

We are writing today to provide an update on timelines for building the new school.

While the project continues to move forward, the extended winter and spring weather has resulted in construction delays to concrete, block work and other components of the school’s construction.

We will continue to work with the contractor to try and reduce delay wherever possible. At this time the updated timeline targets a building completion date of late November, 2025, with occupancy by students and staff likely early in the new year.

Board administration are working on finalizing a contingency plan to accommodate students and staff based on this revised date.  We will share further information to the school community by the end of this month as these plans are completed.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we complete this project which will benefit students and families for generations to come. 

Sincerely,

Nina Jaiswal
Superintendent of Education: Student Achievement (Acting)

Northglen Newsletter November 2024