While school may have been on summer break, the work at St. Michaels University School did not stop. Several staff were working hard to keep operations running, and with students off campus, it was the perfect opportunity for construction and facilities crews to move in for maintenance, renovations, and big campus projects.
Renovations throughout the Junior School, Middle School, Senior School and the boarding houses marked an impressive amount of work done in just a short few months.
On the last day of school in June—barely three hours after students were dismissed—construction teams had already begun dismantling the first Middle School classrooms scheduled for renovation. The Middle School expansion project is now well underway, with a towering new structure taking shape.
At the same time, the existing building is receiving staged upgrades. This year, two classrooms on the main floor have been refreshed with new walls, floors, furniture, and wall-to-wall whiteboards—ushering in versatile, modern learning spaces. Downstairs, music rooms and storage areas also saw major improvements.
Across the walkway at the Richmond Road campus, the Campus Shop underwent a full renovation. With new exterior signage, upgraded cabinetry and storage, and the addition of a dedicated change room, the shop is now a welcoming destination for uniforms, SMUS apparel, and more.
The Monkman Athletic Complex also saw exciting updates. The double gym received a fresh coat of paint and new decals to complement last summer’s single gym renovation. Both now feature the school’s distinctive tri-colour ribbon running around the walls. Soon, mobile bleachers will add flexible seating for a range of events, while a feature wall proudly displays the SMUS crest alongside the cheer “Vivat!”—used to represent “long live the school.”
At the Junior School on Victoria Avenue, the gymnasium got its own refresh. The floors were sanded, new lines painted, and “SMUS” now stands bold at centre court. The walls feature a new design that balances playfulness with excellence, reflecting the spirit of our youngest learners and complementing the beautiful Trottier-Morgan Annex, which opened last year. The tri-colour ribbon also runs along the walls of the Junior School gymnasium, now a connecting piece between the two campuses.
Back at Richmond Road, boarding houses continued their multi-year renewal project. Winslow and Barnacle House were the latest to be upgraded, with fully renovated rooms featuring new bed-desk combinations, larger floor-to-ceiling storage, and modernized bathrooms.
Outside, new signage now makes each of the six houses—Barnacle, Bolton, Harvey, Symons, Timmis, and Winslow—easily identifiable while celebrating their historic namesakes.
Other improvements include a polished paint job in the Senior School weight room, a revitalized drama room, with new structural and electrical upgrades to improve its functionality, a pilot classroom upgrade in one of the Crothall classrooms and last Spring new front doors on the School House Building were put in.
While many spaces across campus now look refreshed and new, the heart of SMUS remains the same. These renovations help create welcoming, functional places to learn, live, and play, but it is the people—the students, teachers, staff, and families—who truly make this school special. Spaces set the stage, but it’s the community that fills them with energy, purpose, and connection every day.
