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One Year After the Party: Building on Goodwill and Vision

You are building a model that will be of value far beyond the walls of Mamawi Atosketan Native School.

MANS donor and charitable family foundation in Calgary

May 16, 2016, was a historic day for the Mamawi Atosketan Native School (MANS) community, the Alberta Conference, and all MANS supporters. The ground-breaking ceremony and the powwow that followed were the culmination of years of faith and hard work on the part of the teachers and principals who are on the front lines; on the part of parents, community members and the people far and wide who support it and its mission; and the steering committee that works hard behind the scenes to keep the funds coming in to build the new high school.

Pictured: Solid from the ground up: Llew Werner, Building Committee chair, advises that both the exterior school walls and the gym walls are constructed of precast concrete sections. In addition to having very good fire resistance and durability, the precast wall sections also have a substantial layer of high density foam insulation "sandwiched" in the middle of each section, which will result in a warm school. The gym walls were raised first and the gym roof trusses installed, and then the exterior walls and trusses will be installed. The roof will be sheeted and clad with metal roofing material.
Pictured: Solid from the ground up: Llew Werner, Building Committee chair, advises that both the exterior school walls and the gym walls are constructed of precast concrete sections. In addition to having very good fire resistance and durability, the precast wall sections also have a substantial layer of high density foam insulation "sandwiched" in the middle of each section, which will result in a warm school. The gym walls were raised first and the gym roof trusses installed, and then the exterior walls and trusses will be installed. The roof will be sheeted and clad with metal roofing material.

 

Pictured: William Piersanti, who also drafted the plans in collaboration with architectural draftsperson Zayda Steinke, coordinates and oversees the day-to-day work at the construction site.
Pictured: William Piersanti, who also drafted the plans in collaboration with architectural draftsperson Zayda Steinke, coordinates and oversees the day-to-day work at the construction site.

One year later the walls are up, and the expectations are high. A charitable family foundation in Calgary with no prior connection to MANS was impressed with the success of our school and the positive effect it is having on our youth. The family generously donated $80,000 to the construction of the high school, writing that "You are building a model that will be of value far beyond the walls of MANS."

Perhaps the greatest miracle of all, however, is the trust that has grown among the families of Maskwacis, who, despite the brutality many of them experienced in religious residential schools, believe in MANS. They entrust their precious children to us every day, believing that we will keep them safe and give them a reason to hope.