Well, I did it. I accomplished my New Year’s resolution and visited Corman Park. And I wasn’t disappointed, it was a great campus. Thanks for the tour by Shawn Ly, principal of the Ellen Gunn education Centre located on the campus.

Corman Park is located just 10 kms outside of Saskatoon, almost in shouting distance of Martinsville. The 80 acre campus is the Ranch’s newest and officially opened for business in September 2007.

It’s located on flat prairie land so you can see the buildings as you drive in. My first stop was the Young administration building where I was welcomed by the lovely Brenda Charles, the HR and office administrator. 

The school is a few steps away from the administrative building and operates two classrooms with a low student to teacher ratio. The building is well lit and cheery. The common area is filled with foosball tables and other games to keep students occupied during class breaks. When we went for the tour students were in the process of turning the beige downstairs rec/gym/all purpose room into a lively gallery by painting murals on the cement walls.

Just behind the school the campus features two residential units, May House and Welke House. Students not enrolled in mainstream classes in Saskatoon, literally only have to take steps from home to get to class. Both buildings feature the open concept that is a standard in the new Ranch residences and have room in the basement for a caseworker office and a family suite that is available for families of the youth to use when they visit. In addition, there is an outdoor hockey rink and basketball court located on campus.

Since I accomplished this goal with some time to spare in 2012 maybe I should work on my next resolution…conquer my fear of bears.

Well maybe that’s best left for 2013.