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May 1993 WEST VANCOUVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY Paged WEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Celebrates 40th Atniversary On a very wet Saturday, May 1, 1993 West Bay Elementary School officially celebrated its fortieth birthday. There may be some doubt regarding the actual date that the first classes were held here but there is no doubt at all about the weather. However, this dreary weather in no way deterred the steady stream of former students and staff as well as present staff, students and parents from attending and enjoyong this reunion. Regarding the doubtfid opening date; the display panel showing pre-construction photos, prepared by our Society for the event, were dated December 1953, but I talked to a former student who claimed to have been one of the first Grade One students enroled in the school in 1952. Disputing this was an item noting that both Gleneagles and West Bay schools opened in 1950! A check through the records of the Public Library were no help and the date still remains in doubt. Surely someone can settle this point once and for all. Early class photos were no help in establishing opening day, the first year on display being 1966/67. The photo record is continuous from this date forward but previous to this school year there is a blanL This must be a source of deep regret to the reunion organizers who will likely still welcome any pictures of the early missing years. In 1973/74, judging from class pictures, the school had classes ranging from Kindergarten to Grade Seven . Grade six consisted of Division 3 with 35 students. Division 4 with 34 and a spill over into Division 5, a split class with an indeterminate number of Grade Six students being part of the combined Grade Five and Six students. By 1987/88 the Kindergarten had 12 children in the a^moon class and 17inthemoming session. The Division One Grade Six class of the same year includes 28 students and two teachers. Grade Six was the senior grade, Grade Seven classes in West Vancouver having been moved to the Senior Secondary Schools sometime after 1983. The present student enrolment was shown as 291. A 1977 newspaper article noted that registration at West Bay School for that year was 370 students, down from possibly ahigh enrollment in 1967 of 557 students. Despite the decrease in school population over the past 25 years one current staff member commented on a steady increase in enrollment. I strolled through some of the halls and was impressed with the novelty and range of the work displayed on the walls and notice boards. One student display, about 25 drawings in total, had been assembled from student's work done during the joint pilot project our Museum undertook with several West Vancouver schools. I talked briefly with a teacher who worked with the student group on this project and she was very impressed with the way the children became involved. The children were asked to draw something from the slide presentations that impressed them. The big attraction was the West Van ferry, some of the drawings being reproduced quite realistically in essentials. The logging sites and saw mills sparked some detailed reproductions and surprisingly, the Red and White store caught the fancy of several students. I left about 4 PM and despite the steady rain took a quick tour of the school grounds. The school and grounds appeared moulded to the contours of a gigantic granite outcrop, so typical of West Vancouver. The bare surface of the rock, seamed with quartz extrusions and scarred by ancient glacial action provides a timeless base for this fragile human structure that brought so many back this day. The gravel soccer field bro ught back instant memories of another many years ago. So to the wooded area below, scrubbed clean of underbrush and any ground cover by constant use; contrasting so sharply with the colourful modem playground equipment. As I talked with many students and teachers of past years and watched them greet one another and reminisce, many of them now having children following in their footsteps, I wondered how those in authority can so coldly and casually close down schools such as this that have played so large a part in our community's development. Reported by: Waring Pentland SPECIAL EVENTS REPORT Continuedfrom Page 5 May 16, 1993 - Sunday, 10 AM to 4 PM - "PORT DAY" NORTH VAN - PACIFIC TRAINING INSTITUTE As we did last year we are supplying a display in the circular area at the north end of the building. We will be showing our new panels on the Lions Gate Bridge and the Logging which uses the pictures donated by George Smith as well as the PGE Train pictures by Bob Thompson. We understand that the two new Fireboats will be on display as will the heritage tug "Master". May 6, 1993 - Thursday WEST VAN MASONIC HALL - A SPECIAL MEETING We supplied historic picture panels on each of four walls of the main room in the Masonic Hall. Lodge members who came from all parts of BC took great interest in our pictures of the early years which they felt greatly enhanced the event. May 1, 1993 - Saturday, 11 AM to 3 PM WEST BAY SCHOOL - 40th ANNIVERSARY We supplied our picture panels depicting the history of West Vancouver as well as a new panel of pictures of the West Bay School, from the construction to the present. A dance in the evening was planned to cap off what was expected to be a very successful event. FIFTEEN MEMBERS ATTEND MUSEUM COURSE Continued from Page 5 For members interested in taking part in museum activity, tr^ning is essential and the " Introduction to Museums" course is j ust the beginning. More training will be available for specific tasks as the need arises. I am sure that more detailed instmction vnll be equally interesting and provide even greater satisfaction. I heartily recommend participation in the fall session ofthe introductory course. Call 926 9254 for information.