The start of the school year was marred Thursday at Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption elementary school in Montreal by a piece of ceiling that fell directly on a student in the middle of class.
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“A plasterboard has come loose […] and hit a student in the class. “Fortunately, this one is doing well,” says a letter that the management of the facility in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district sent to the young people’s parents on Thursday.
Entrance to the Notre-Dame-de l’Assomption Louis-Dominique Lamarche / JdeM primary school
The Montreal School Services Center (CSSDM) confirmed to the Journal that the third-grader had “only a few scratches” and did not require hospitalization.
“It was a final layer of plaster that fell off during class. It is not a large block of gypsum, just a small layer,” emphasizes Stéphane Chaput, deputy general director of material resources at the CSSDM.
Letter from management on Thursday to parents whose children attend Notre Dame de l’Assomption School in Montreal. Decency
The heat is to blame
According to Mr. Chaput, a ceiling inspection took place at the Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption school on August 15. At this time, no problems were identified at this facility, which was built in 1930.
“These are things that happen when the temperature rises. “Usually this happens in the summer when we don’t have students,” explains Mr. Chaput.
According to him, this is an exceptional situation. The ceiling plaster would therefore have been weakened by the heat wave in Montreal. Keep in mind that the metropolitan area experienced a sweltering heatwave on Wednesday with humidity hovering around 40°C.
Playground at Notre-Dame-de l’Assomption primary school. Louis-Dominique Lamarche / JdeM
Upcoming renovations
The CSSDM also points out that the piece of ceiling in one of the four classrooms still plastered in Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption collapsed. Renovations to change this will take place shortly.
“The event only affects the cladding and has no impact on the structure of the building,” mentions the CSSDM.
In the letter sent to the parents, the school management finally claims that they had “moved the class at short notice due to the dust generated by the falling plaster”.
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