What is happening?

We’re renovating and restoring School House. It is an historic building which is over 160 years old and we want to ensure that it’s here for another 160 years. School House was one of the first buildings on the Dio campus and continues to be both the centrepiece of our campus and part of our rich heritage.

We’ll be painting the exterior of School House and giving it a new roof as part of our restoration. Out of sensitivity to its original heritage, the roof tiles will match the original materials used, per the Heritage conservation guidelines, with our new slate tiles having been mined and shipped from Wales.

History of School House

School House was built in the 1860s on this site. It was purchased by the Founders of Dio in 1903, right before Dio opened in May 1904 with only 27 students.

School House was originally used as a site for classrooms, along with a dining hall, chapel and accommodation.  As the school grew, School House increasingly became Dio’s boarding facility.

School House has seen its share of history. It survived the Depression and two World Wars.  In 1987, after over 80 years as a Boarding house, School House closed its doors to boarders and Dio’s boarding facilities moved to the villas on Clyde Street. School House, however, continued to be a hub for the school.

 How is School House used today?

Today School House is the Home for our Principal (Heather McRae) and the Property, Finance, Development and Marketing teams. It is also used sometimes for larger meetings, training sessions and smaller school events. It’s also where Ollie our school cat lives, and he has done so for the last six years.

 When will the renovation be complete?

Renovation projects can go ‘as expected’ or can take longer than expected. We have our fingers crossed all will go well.  We expect the renovation project to be completed by mid November and that point we will be ‘unwrapping’ this building. We look forward to the ‘grand reveal’!