I do hate to stir the pot on an already hot-button issue that is the new school debate, but I feel I have some experience on the subject; that may be worth mentioning. 

I was in Grade 7 when construction began in our middle school in Kimberley, B.C. The year before I entered school, the roof collapsed on the theatre. No one was in the building at the time, but it was decided that the entire school needed to be replaced instead of just the theatre, despite the fact that the school was much newer than the high school just up the hill.

The gym was to be kept, and the school renovated in phases. Because there wasn’t enough funding, the students were sent out into the community to collect funds through raffles and other initiatives. As Grade 7 students, the school would not be finished until we were in high school. We were well aware that we would be fundraising for a school we would never get to attend.

I asked my two best friends who grew up in Kimberley, Jessica (Jess) Pighin and Natasha (Tasha) Fisher about their memories from middle school. The three of us didn’t become friends until high school because we were all in different classes through middle school – and therefore had three very different experiences.

Jess remembered in Grade 7 when it all started the home economics classes were moved to the only place they would fit – the library. The whirring of machines was a constant disruption while studying or trying to find a quiet spot to dig into a book. 

We lost our huge cafeteria, which was our school’s social Mecca. Since the grades were split up, it was one of the only times we all got to interact. Food was served out of a former closet at the joining of three hallways. At recess and lunch time, the halls bulged with people trying to get their food, which was eaten in class or wherever you could find space to sit in the hallways. The office was in a similar state – crammed into what used to be a storage room. 

“It was like a cubby,” Jess said of the office.

Jess bitterly told me about being stuck in the unheated portable classroom in the school parking lot in Grade 8. She remembers students wearing coats and mitts in class, and pipes freezing overnight. If more than two people had to use the bathroom, they had to trek across the parking lot into the main building and miss class for a while. 

Going through all of that, and then getting turfed out at the end of Grade 8 left a sour taste in Jess’ mouth.

“I really didn’t appreciate going through it all and not even being able to use the facility.”

Our teachers did their best to get us outside when the weather was good, or to plan around the construction.

Tasha says it was hard to get used to a school that was constantly changing, and wonders why it couldn’t have been done while students weren’t there.

“It was a pain having the renos while we were in school. Why didn’t they have it in the summer? It’s hard enough trying to get used to your school, even more so if it’s new to you, then to also learn where temporary stuff is going to be.”

Tasha also commented on the rapidly changing temperatures in the entire school, presumably as the heating system was being fixed. 

When we got to high school, we noticed the roof was leaking. There were water stains rippling down the walls, the halls were too narrow and classes were overcrowded. Later on, Grade 8s moved into the school and joined an already crowded Grade 9 to 12 group. We needed a new high school, desperately, but the funding wasn’t there because the middle school got there first. It was hard to have pride in a school that was so broken down.

I know from my experience that attending school while dodging construction crews and the constant headaches from machinery was not an ideal learning environment. It was not a great way to attend school, and I hope that if this solution is chosen for Jasper, it is done so with the utmost attention paid to keeping the students happy and without disruption. I am not supporting using the dog park, or any other plot of land, but rather offering my experiences to hopefully be thought over as this debate rages on.  

DISCLAIMER: The Last Word is an opinion column, it is meant to provoke thought and debate. As such, any opinions written here are the writers own and do not reflect the viewpoint of any other Fitzhugh staff member or the directors of the Jasper Media Group Inc.