Airdrie's Koinonia Christian School staff are beyond excited knowing they'll be moving into their new school in the fall of 2013. Many attended the ground-breaking, a quarter-century in the making, on a sunny Friday afternoon. The school has gone from its humble beginnings in a basement to their current portables on the south-west corner of the city.

A healthy turnout for the AKCS ground-breaking

AKCS Principal Earl Driedger said it was a pivotal day for everyone who made this happen.

Principal Driedger committed to accompanying Mayor Brown to the top of the sizeable mound of dirt at the future site of the new school if someone in the crowd brought a 100-dollar bill to the stage. Drieger's sister complied and the two men honoured the pledge. Completing it barefoot was Brown's idea.

Mayor Peter Brown and AKCS principal Earl Driedger scale the dirt mountain barefoot

Mayor Brown slid back down the dirt hill. His suit won't be what it was. After the fundraising climb, he asked: "Who needs shoes?"

Driedger says Koinonia School will officially mark its 25th year in April.

The new school will be located just north of the Superstore on Gateway Dr. in Airdrie.