Shovels hit the ground at 500 Cedar Hedge Rd. in Milton on Nov. 30, as about 100 Francophone students celebrated the start of construction of Milton’s first secular French elementary school. While the students waved the green-and-white Franco-Ontarian flag, Viamonde school board President Jean-François L'Heureux thanked the Ministry of Education for continuing to recognize the right to secular French education.

Just the facts:

•The new school is expected to be ready for students in September 2019. Parents looking to send their children there can fill out a pre-enrolment form on the board’s website to register. Formal registration begins Jan. 4.

•The school will serve students from kindergarten to Grade 6.

•The school will be built to accommodate 350 students. The board expects it to launch with about 115.

•The school is being built in a neighbourhood that is still in development, so more students are expected to flow to the school as nearby home construction continues.

•The board will determine the catchment zone for the new Milton school after consultations in early 2019.

•Francophone students in Milton are currently bussing out of town for school, including about 60 elementary students attending École élémentaire du Chêne in Oakville. “Some will still take buses, but the ride will be way shorter,” said the board’s director of communications and marketing Claire Francoeur.

•The process to choose the school’s name will begin in the spring, when the board will take suggestions from the community. Once suggestions have been collected, trustees will make the final decision.