-

bee a oe ee ee ONE Te ne la

30th Anniversary
Mi. Newton’ s history preserved as modern Bayside replaces ti

by Shelley-Anne Soman
Special jo The Review

Evolution is something the
Mount Newton Middle School
knows a lot about.

Yet, just as Cro-Magnons no
longer exist amongst modern peo-
ple, Mt. Newton has finished its
final stage of evolution in the
world of modem schools.

According to the theory of evo-
lution, Cro-Magnon was the last
stage before the world became
inhabited by the modern species of
homo sapiens. Taking Mt. New-
ton’s place this September is the
State-of-the-art Bayside Middle
School.

While there are still many mem-
Ories attached to Mt. Newton, its
exit as a middle school has been
greeted with more excitement than
nostalgia.

As an educational institution it
could no longer adequately meet
the needs of its staff and students

‘The lockers stand
open and empty but
the trophy case is still
full. The din from the

gravel pit can be

clearly heard form
the classrooms facing
it,’

and a modemizing curriculum the
way that Bayside is specifically
designed to.

It is still slightly ironic, however,
that Mt. Newton has been rendered
obsolete by the same community,
Ministry of Education and curricu-
lum forces that brought it into
creation and shaped it throughout
the years.

The history of the school has
been chronicled in detail by Bob
Warrender in his paper, Mt. New-
ton School 1931-1989.

Mt. Newton first opened in
October of 1931 as a high school
in answer to the Saanich Peninsula
community’s need for education
for their Grades 7 to 12 students.
Up until that point, they had to be
driven into Victoria in order to
continue their education.

Dung the first few years of its
existence Mt. Newton was part of a
very agriculturally-based com-
munity. The old gravel pit was
originally an apple orchard and the
new pit was-a flower seed farm
called Robinson’s Seeds, accord-
ing to Warrender’s history.

In 1931 there were 80 students
and four teachers and the curricu-
lum was based on the 3 Rs and
some commercial and agricultural
COUISES.

There was a definite camarader-
ie between the students and teach-
ers that has carnied on-up into the
present.

After the Second World War, the
school obtained an old army bar-
racks and converted it into a
Manual Arts Shop. This addition
allowed Metal and Woodwork and
Sewing and Home Arts to be
added to the curriculum.

In the late 50’s the gym was
built and what is now the dance

Studio was originally a bomb shel-
ter.

By 1959 there were 270 students
and 14 staff members at Mt.
Newton. Students still walked or
rode their bikes long distances to
school and the farm life was still of
some importance.

Janet Rice, a para-professional
who will make the move from Mt.
Newton to Bayside this September,
attended Mt. Newton from 1954-
1960. She was one of the 27
students who made up the
school’s last graduating class:

“It was a typical high school of.
the 50’s,” she explained when
asked of her memories of her time
there. “Very similar to what you
see on Happy Days.”

“We were all very close. Most of
the students I had gone to school
with since Grade 4.”

Rice and her classmates still get
together every year for a reunion.
She says the main feeling toward
the move to Bayside is one of
excitement.

In 1960 Mt. Newton made the
transition from a high school to a
Junior High. The school spirit was
strongly aligned with the spirit of
the 60s during these years.

By 1973 Mt. Newton held 430
students and 22 staff members.
Portables- were moved onto the
school grounds to accommodate
the population growth.

As the gravel pit had long since
begun its operations, there was less
and less room for the overcrowded
school to expand.

Community pressure called for
physical expansion and Ministry
of Education pressure called for
curriculum expansion. Where the

Continued on Page 10

Se es TheReview

Wednesday, July 29,1992 — 7

MI. NEWTON SCHOOL as it appeared in 1947 as a secondary school.

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