in Chatsworth, Grey Highlands, Southgate, West Grey
September 03, 2024
Jump-starting the new Beavercrest Community School fundraiser, Chapman’s Ice Cream is leading with a $500,000 donation. This donation will go towards essentials inside and outside the school building, such as the primary and junior playgrounds, shelters, outdoor sports equipment, gym equipment, gym wall padding, audio and video systems, etc.
Seven years after Chapman’s led the community effort to stop unnecessary school closures, Markdale is set to open its new elementary school in 2025. The new school facility will have an increased student capacity from 317 to 374 students and will house a daycare and an EarlyON child and family centre.
“The beautiful brand new Beavercrest will feature modernized classroom spaces, state-of-the-art child care, and an EarlyON centre to accommodate our growing school community in the Markdale area for current and future generations,” said Tennille Schultz, Principal of Beavercrest Community School. “We are extremely thankful to Chapman’s for this incredibly generous donation which provides for enhancements to our school in the areas that are not provincially funded. This notably alleviates pressure from the school community to fundraise.”
For Chapman’s the opening of a new school in Markdale is exciting news. With 25% of its employees having their children enrolled in Beavercrest, Chapman’s see this donation as an investment in the community and its employees. Markdale’s population grew notably in recent years with multiple housing developments in town and the need for a local school is greater than ever.
The Chapman family, Penny, Ashley and David.
Chapman’s is transferring the donation to the Bluewater District School Board from where the funds will be moved directly to the Beavercrest account. School staff will be able to start placing orders for needed equipment immediately.
“With our donation, we hope to provide the new school and its students with the right tools for success. After all, contributing to the growth of next generations is the best way to ensure a bright future for both Chapman’s and the community,” said Ashley Chapman, Chief Operating Officer at Chapman’s.
Like hundreds of other rural Ontario schools, Markdale’s Beavercrest Community School faced closure in 2017, due to provincial budget cuts. With the closure of Beavercrest, all current students were to be redistributed to other schools in the region. This distribution of students would call for lengthy bus rides spanning from 30 to 90 minutes for many students, causing many families to consider relocating.
“Who wants their children to spend 90 minutes on a school bus? Our children deserve to have local quality education without hardship of lengthy bussing and class overcrowding,” said Cindy Cook-Boer, local to Markdale.
In the effort to save the local school in 2017, Chapman’s stepped in making multiple varying offers to the Bluewater School Board, but the Ministry of Education’s directives were strict. Regardless of not taking up the offer at the time, Chapman’s is backing up its promise to support the school and the community with this timely donation.
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