It was exactly one year ago that we heard that McCauley School would be closed. The news made many of us parents sad and we cried. We were joined by other people from McCauley at the first meeting with the trustees at the Edmonton School Board. Lots of agencies, such as MCHB Daycare and Big Brothers and Big Sisters were there. Even a mom who was nine months pregnant made a speech about what made her chose McCauley to be her kids’ second home.

The community members came that night to show their feelings and to make their voices heard so that McCauley School would stay open. But that didn’t change the decision to close McCauley, except for two things: the daycare and the Intercultural Preschool remained open. This made us feel that at least we saved something that would keep McCauley alive.

McCauley School is closed, but the building is still full of life. The Multicultural Health Brokers Day Care is open and the number of children is increasing. Children like the daycare because they get good care in a good facility. The building is now called the McCauley Transition Centre. The Transition Centre supports children from kindergarten to grade 12 who have had their schooling interrupted, often through war or being in refugee camps, and those who are struggling with English. The Transition Centre works in partnership with the Multicultural Health Brokers Coop which supports immigrant and refugee families with programs in health, family support, and education.

Our hope is that someday this place could be many things: a transition centre, a regular school, and a community centre not just for immigrants and refugees, but for everyone in McCauley.

Now new programs are coming to the centre. We see many people and kids come and be active here at different times for different programs. We spend wonderful times here in the evening and on the weekend, meeting with people from other cultures, learning English in the free Adult ESL classes (taught by the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers) without worrying about our children because childcare is provided.

There is even more for the children. Youth and teenagers can come and drop in to the recreation programs, or get help for their homework. For the little ones, there are books and stories from the Edmonton Public Library. There is the Artstart program for children 6 to 16 years, in which they enjoy music, dance, and art. On every Friday afternoon, all children from kindergarten to grade 9 are welcome to the afterschool program to spend the whole afternoon doing recreation, crafts and other activities.

Our hope is that someday this place could be many things: a transition centre, a regular school, and a community centre not just for immigrants and refugees, but for everyone in McCauley. The doors, spaces, and resources could be open for each and every community and people of all ages.

This article was written by Tsedale Aregawi, Mimi Wu, and Kalabe Mulugeta. They are ESL students at the McCauley Transition Centre.