New Foster Northwest Neighbourhood School | Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board

January 29, 2026 Update

Dear families/caregivers,

We are pleased to share that work continues to move forward on the new Kindergarten to Grade 12 school in the Newcastle area. Recently, board staff and Salter Pilon, KPR’s consultant on the project, met with the Municipality of Clarington for a pre-consultation meeting mid- December 2025. Feedback on the proposed design was positive, and the design team is now updating the plans to incorporate the municipality’s requested changes.

The project continues to progress through the design stages, with key milestones being met in alignment with Ministry of Education timelines.

Project milestones since our last update include:

· Submission of the Site Plan pre-consultation application to the Municipality in November 2025

· Pre-consultation meeting with the municipality in December 2025, during which design feedback and considerations were provided

· Ongoing incorporation of municipal feedback into the Site Plan application

· Anticipated submission of the finalized Site Plan application to the municipality in February 2026

Design Preview, Visioning and Project Milestones Meeting – Thursday, February 26, 2026

As this work continues, students, parents, caregivers, staff and community are invited to a Design Preview and Visioning Meeting to share feedback about the proposed design, support visioning for the new school community, and learn more about project milestones.

Thursday, February 26, 2026

6:00 p.m.

Newcastle Public School

50 Glass Court

Newcastle, L1B 1M5

Newcastle K–12 Project – Updated Estimated Schedule

· February 2026: Completion of early design drawings (approximately 30%) and preparation of an initial cost estimate. Submission of the site plan application.

· March–May 2026: Advancement of detailed design, with construction drawings progressing from approximately 30% to 60% completion.

· June 2026: Design development reaches approximately 80% completion. A more detailed cost estimate is prepared, and the building permit application is submitted.

· July 2026: Completion of final design drawings (100%) and issuance of tender documents for contractor bidding.

· Late August 2026: Anticipated start of construction.

· Late July 2028: Anticipated substantial completion of construction, with the facility ready for occupancy.

We know that students and families share in the excitement of this project. We will continue to provide updates through the digital Progress Dashboard established on the KPR website to share more information with families. Check out the Progress Dashboard on the Foster Northwest Neighbourhood School web page.

Sincerely,

Sonal Gohil,

Superintendent of Student Achievement

Progress Dashboard

The Progress Dashboard supports communication of this exciting project, by visually representing progress.

We have created definitions to provide more clarification on each of the steps of the Land Acquisition and Build Approval processes, here.

Previous Updates

October 30, 2025

Dear families/caregivers,

We hope everyone has had an enjoyable start to the new year!

As you know, work continues to be moving forward with a new Kindergarten to Grade 12 school in the Newcastle area. School board staff recently provided an update to Trustees at the October Resource Committee and Regular Board meetings about the ongoing work and planning to support the building of the school.

Thanks to a Ministry of Education investment of $75.9M in capital funding, we are building a new Junior Kindergarten (JK) to Grade 12, 1,445- pupil-place school, plus a three-room childcare centre in the Foster Northwest Neighbourhood at Grady Drive and Ruddell Road in Newcastle.

The project continues to progress through early design stages, with key milestones being met in alignment with Ministry of Education timelines.

Project milestones since the last update in late June 2025 include:

The Ministry of Education has reviewed and approved the space template for the new school, confirming that the design will meet provincial standards and provide adequate classrooms, specialized spaces, and common areas, allowing the project to move forward with detailed design and construction planning.

The design team (architects and staff) are advancing the preliminary design development phase to confirm the general layout of the school. This includes refining the building layout, confirming space adjacencies (such as functional needs and student flow), and coordinating with technical consultants to ensure alignment with program requirements and site constraints. This phase of work will form the foundation for the upcoming site plan submission and detailed design development stages.

The site plan pre-consultation application is expected to be submitted to the Municipality of Clarington in November 2025.

Future project milestones:

Anticipated site plan and building permit approval – winter 2026.

Collaboration with students, staff and the community to help inform visioning and establish community needs for the new school – winter 2026.

Construction is anticipated to begin during the summer of 2026.

Anticipated opening of the new school – fall 2028.

We know that students and families share in the excitement of this project, and we are pleased to launch a digital Progress Dashboard on the KPR website to continue to share more information with families. Check out the Progress Dashboard on the Foster Northwest Neighbourhood School web page.

Sincerely,

Sonal Gohil,

Superintendent of Student Achievement

June 24, 2025

New School Build Update

We are excited to be moving forward with a new Kindergarten to Grade 12 school in the Newcastle area. School board staff recently provided an update to the Board of Trustees at the June 19 Board Meeting about the ongoing work and planning to support the building of the school.

As you know, in January, the Ministry of Education announced a $75.9M investment in capital funding to build a new Junior Kindergarten (JK) to Grade 12, 1,445- pupil-place school, plus a three-room childcare centre in the Foster Northwest Neighbourhood at Grady Drive and Ruddell Road in Newcastle.

The project is progressing through early design stages, with key milestones being closely monitored to maintain alignment with Ministry of Education timelines. Once the initial site plan and drawings are complete, the next step in the process will be to collaborate with students, staff and the community to help inform visioning and establish community needs for the new school.

Some updates and anticipated timelines with respect to this project include:

Collaboration with the Ministry of Education to develop and approve the space template.
Pre-consultation meetings with the Municipality of Clarington to provide feedback on the submission of a formal zoning by-law.
Anticipated site plan approval in spring of 2026.
Anticipated construction beginning in summer of 2026.
Scheduled opening of the new school in fall of 2028.

We are committed to providing regular updates to families about this exciting project and will share more information with families later in the fall.

January 29, 2025

New School Funding Announcement

Dear Families,

We are very pleased to share that the Ontario government announced funding yesterday for a new JK-12 school in Newcastle.

The new school will be located on board-owned property in the Foster Northwest Neighbourhood at Grady Drive and Ruddell Road in Newcastle.

The $75.9 million in funding will support the creation of 1,445 pupil spaces and 49 licensed child care spaces, announced as part of the Ministry of Education’s Capital Priorities Program.

We greatly welcome this new capital funding as a positive step towards addressing the enrolment pressures we are experiencing in the Clarington area and concerns for the safety of students attending school on a highway classified provincially as a staged freeway.

We look forward to the building of this new school, which will benefit students and families for many years to come.