How to reserve time at a school in Halifax

Update November 20, 2020

The municipality coordinates facility bookings for all Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) schools for community and school use. Following the province’s announcement today, bookings at Auburn Drive High School and Graham Creighton Junior High are cancelled until at least December 6.

Update November 3, 2020

Following today’s provincial announcement on reopening school gymnasiums for community use, we will be updating contracts to reflect this change. With over 130 bookable schools, it will take some time to re-book groups in these spaces. Bookings at the following high schools (Auburn High School, Dartmouth High School, Halifax West High School, Sackville High School, Sir John A High School and Cunard Junior High) will commence effective November 5, 2020 and all other bookings are expected to commence the week of November 16, 2020. 

Once all previously booked groups have their contracts finalized, staff will consider potential new bookings. 

Familiarize yourself with the guidelines below for access to school gymnasiums and please ensure all coaches, players and parents aware of these guidelines.

• Access will only be permitted to gymnasiums.
• Spectators will not be permitted at this time.

PARTICIPANTS

• No food.  Participants should bring their own water bottle, already filled.
• No showers are permitted.
• Masks are mandatory to enter and exit the facility. Masks are not required during the gym activity.
• Maximum 25 permitted this includes players, coaches and volunteers.
• All participants including coaches, volunteers, etc. will be required to complete a COVID pre-screening and provide contact information for tracing purposes. It is the responsibility of the renter to collect and maintain if Public Health requires. They do not need to submit to HRCE or HRM.

• Participants will be permitted to enter the school ten minutes prior to the scheduled rental time.
• Participants will not be permitted anywhere in the school except for the gymnasium.
• Participants must exit the school as soon as the scheduled time ends. The next group of participants will not be permitted to enter the facility until the gymnasium is completely vacant.
• All groups and organizations are encouraged to make their coaches, players and parents aware of these guidelines.
• Be mindful of signage in the school and always follow the direction of staff.
• Failure to comply with the above may result in forfeiture of future rentals.

As noted in the announcement, community fees for gymnasium rentals have been waived for the school year. Adjustments to contracts to reflect this change will be made at a later date as our focus is on getting groups re-booked.

Required documents

Before you apply for a school rental, download and complete the following forms. All forms are in [PDF] format.

Application for use
Insurance waiver form

Client information form

How to apply for a school rental

Submit the above forms:

In person:
Alderney Ferry Terminal, 3rd Floor
88 Alderney Drive, Dartmouth

Office Hours are Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Contact 311 to speak with a Facility Scheduler.
Call and set up an appointment before visiting in person.

Fax:
902.490.4588 (see information about faxing procedures)

How much does it cost?

Please note for the 2020/21 school year all fees will be waived for community rentals.

All fees listed are per hour and include HST.

Not-for-profit: applies to under 18 years of age, proof of not-for-profit status is mandatory prior to booking

Open/close rate:
The stated flat fee includes half an hour for opening the facility and one hour for closing it.
The fee amount is reviewed and applied on a case by case basis.
The fees vary from site to site based on the type of activity, number of participants and effort required for clean-up.

Additional documents

The following provide information on your rental. All of these documents are in PDF format.
Procedures for Scheduling HRCE Schools
Dates to Remember

Fire Safety Plan