One hundred years of learning was a good slogan for the Connaught Elementary School centennial celebration, says the school's principal.
"That's always been our focus, learning," said Jay Nichol as he addressed the crowd gathered on the school playground Saturday for an afternoon of activities and celebration.
The party, complete with birthday cake, balloons, face painting and dancing, also featured a display of photos, documents and artifacts from the past 100 years. Gathered together from various sources, the size of the display was a pleasant surprise to organizers who had advertised for people to lend the school any items they had. Photos from the City of North Battleford Historic Archives were also included, and the school's students had decorated the wall of the gym with displays of history and pop culture throughout the decades.
Nichol said everybody on staff worked hard to get ready for the day, as did the students who polished up the school and cleaned up the playground in preparation.
Relating the history of Connaught School, Tammy Donahue-Buziak, the city's archivist and chair of the City of North Battleford 2013 Centennial Committee, said the school was built in 1913 when King Street Elementary School could no longer hold any more children.
The school was named after the Duke of Connaught, who was the governor general of Canada at the time. "A very prestigious name," said Donahue-Buziak.
The 12-room school of bricks and wood officially opened in 1914 and "did the job until 1988" when a new school was built. It was exciting, she said, that the school is celebrating its centennial the same year as the City of North Battleford.
Living Sky School Division Board Randy Fox congratulated the school and its staff and students on a wonderful tradition of serving the community.
"It's really special to see that now, as it joins the 100th year club, it joins the tradition and history of the Battlefords," he said, "And there is such a rich history here, whether you're talking education or trade, and it's just wonderful to see Connaught be part of that."
He thanked the volunteers, the organizing committee and the staff and students who worked so hard to make the celebration happen.
"Congratulations to all those associated with the school," said Fox. "Whether it's staff or whether it's students, it's a very special day for you."
Connaught Elementary School is presently a K-8 school with just under 300 students. The present building was constructed after the demolition of the 1913 building, which suffered a partial ceiling collapse in 1986. Students were housed elsewhere in the community until the new building went up in 1988.
The Mystery Of The Time Capsule
A time capsule with mementos dating back to 1913, the year the first Connaught School was built, was the subject of some consternation Saturday as past and present students, staff, families and friends celebrated the school's anniversary.
No one was sure where to find the elusive time capsule.
"Lots of people have stories about the time capsule," principal Jay Nichol told the crowd gathered on the playground in the afternoon. "If anybody has direct recollection of where it might be, we're still looking and we have sledge hammer ready to go. There are many holes in the school right now from trying to find it."
The event was scheduled to run from noon until 3 p.m. and it wasn't until 2:45 that the time capsule was finally discovered, said Nichol Monday.
It was near where they had been looking, but it wasn't until they found some information amongst the artifacts on display that they determined they had been looking too low.
See Thursday's Regional Optimist for more on the contents of the time capsule.
