For teachers and former students, a final event at Giant’s Head Elementary School in Summerland was a time for memories.
The event, on June 25, was an opportunity for former students to revisit their old classrooms one last time, before the school is closed permanently.
Gwen Plitt remembers attending Giant’s Head School in Summerland, when the building opened its doors.
The year was 1974 and Plitt, who had been a student at the former MacDonald Elementary School downtown, was one of Grade 5 students in the new facility. At that time, the school had 53 students in Grades 3 to 5.
The oldest part of the school, which later housed the library, was set up in an open-concept design which was popular in newly constructed school buildings at the time. This meant classrooms did not have permanent walls and doors. Those were added much later.
Plitt said the school playground had sod in that first year, and students would use the sod to build structures during recess. Later, grass was established in the playground area.
The school later expanded and for the 1976 school year, it was a Kindergarten to Grade 7 facility.
Charlie Greenhough was the school’s first principal in 1974. The last principal, Scott Edwards, will be the principal at the new school when classes begin this fall.
The school has closed its doors now and classroom equipment and supplies are being set up in the new Summerland Elementary School, formerly Summerland Middle School, near the downtown.
Kathleen Robertson, who has worked as a teacher and librarian at the school for the past 15 years, said the staff members have discovered some old items during the packing process. These include readers from 1978 that were still on the shelves in the building.
Robertson said many children attended the school during its 51-year history. Some of those attending during this past year were in the same classrooms as their parents had been, many years earlier.
Some of those on staff at the school had earlier attended Giant’s Head School as students.
She said the school became a community for its neighbourhood over the years.
Moving into the new elementary school building, which was a middle school from 2000 to 2025, will be an adjustment for teachers and students, Robertson said.
“It doesn’t feel the same,” she said, “but the staff here is working hard to make it our new home.”
The school closure, along with the closure of Carmi Elementary School and Parkway Elementary School in Penticton, is part of the Okanagan Skaha School District’s Long Range Facilities Plan.
Because of declining enrolments, the three schools will no longer operate.
The Giant’s Head Elementary School building will remain, but its purpose is not yet known.
The school board is looking to lease the three school buildings that are being closed. While the school district has received interest in leasing each of the facilities, no decision has been made at present.
