Final construction of the Kingston Secondary School (KSS) site was delayed in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although provincial emergency orders were lifted in early May to allow construction to resume on the project, the mandatory work stoppage means the school site will not be ready to open to students in September 2020.

Since work resumed on the site in early May, the contractor has been working diligently to make up the lost weeks. The building is nearing 95 per-cent-completion. The interior of the second and third floors are almost finished, and work is concentrated on completing the inside of the main level. Work on the exterior site (parking lots, landscaping and the field/track) is well under way. The memorial garden located in the northern alcove has begun and sod will also soon be laid.

Despite this push, which will continue over the summer months, the school will not be completed and ready for occupancy until approximately late November. Assuming no further delays or disruption to the construction timeline, students and staff will move into the new school by the start of the second semester/term. The move must consider the cycle of the school year, and minimize the impact on learning and teaching. We will share information around the timing and logistics of the move once we are closer to occupancy.

Of course, all these timelines and tentative moves are dependent upon provincial and local public health directives related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the meantime, students and staff will remain at Kingston Collegiate & Vocational Institute (KCVI) and Module Vanier in September.

We know the various delays related to this project have been disappointing. We are excited, however, to be so close to welcoming students and staff into our new school. We hope to share an interior fly-through later this fall to allow everyone to see the incredible facilities inside the KSS site.

We appreciate your continued understanding and patience.

By Joanne Whitfield, Co-ordinator, KCVI QECVI Legacy Project

In February, with the help of Emily Welsh, a recent graduate with a Masters of Museum Studies from University of Toronto who was hired with grant money from the Federal government and the City of Kingston, we finished the inventory of all the objects and documents that make up the historical collections of KCVI and QECVI.

With the inventory in hand, we could make some decisions about the final disposition of some items. Queen’s Archives will be accepting the bulk of the student and school document records including the roll books, student cards and various association meeting minutes. Before transfer to the Archives at Queens, we have been digitizing some of these records to put in our online museum. Our hope is that these documents will be of use to members of the public including those pursuing academic or genealogical research and to our own history teachers and their students as they explore our own history.

Other local, provincial and national museums and archives have been contacted to offer other items. Unique and iconic objects that we have the ability to store, or display at a museum standard, will go with us to Kingston Secondary School to be part of a small exhibit that celebrates and commemorates our two founding institutions.

We anticipate that the exhibits will cover our history as it pertains to; secondary education in Kingston, what it was like to be a student at various points since 1792, our military legacy, athletics and the performing arts.

We are working with a graphic designer to create museum standard displays that will educate our students, staff and visitors. We hope that the knowledge of the strong roots both KC and QE have in our community will help our students and staff create a vibrant new school community at Kingston Secondary School.

In case you missed it, below are the new logos for Kingston Secondary School. Using the new school colours - black, blue and white - and the bear mascot, students set to work on possible designs for the new school logo. KCVI Student Council received dozens of digital and hand-drawn designs from students at KCVI. Student Council choose their top three submissions which were forwarded on to a graphic designer for polished concepts. What you see are the finished logos. Work has begun to use the new logo on various school materials, athletic and spirit wear and other applications.