South Peace Historical Society

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    • About Dorthea Horton
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  • Table of Contents

    • Part 1: First Nations of the Peace River Region
    • Part 2: The Fur Trade Era
    • Part 3: Transportation and Communication
    • Part 4: Old Timers and the Price of Land
    • Part 5: Dawson Creek: The Story of the Community
    • Part 6: Mysteries, Adventures and Indian Legends
    • Part 7: Arts, Crafts and Recreation
    • Part 8: Agriculture
    • Part 9: Church Histories
    • Part 10: Schools
    • Part 11: Health Care
    • Part 12: Industries and Enterprises
    • Part 13: Policing the Peace
    • Part 14: Pouce Coupe, Rolla, and Other South Peace Communities
    • Part 15: Chetwynd and the Fort St. John Area
    • Part 16: The Alberta Peace
    • Part 17: Natural History of the Peace River Region
    • Part 18: Interviews with Old Timers
    • Part 19: Remembering Our Veterans

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10-029: Moving to the New Dawson Elementary, 1952

Moving of 700 children to their new home in the $500,000 Dawson Creek Elementary School started on Wednesday of last week and is expected to be completed by Tuesday of next week.

The beautiful modern school has eighteen classrooms for kindergarten to grade six. In addition to the classrooms there is a kitchen, an activity room which is a combination gymnasium and auditorium, a multi-purpose room which houses the library, music and is used as a luncheon room, a practical arts room, general offices and the principal’s office, store room and medical room. The one-storey section is the primary section and the two-storey wing is the intermediate section of the lovely new school.

The classrooms are of the latest design with lots of windows for better light and sloped blackboards, which are green to reduce reflection. Each room is beautifully finished in matching pastel shades and the walls are finished in one of rubbed fir plywood, painted fir plywood, varnished vee-joint or varnished poplar varnished. There were about thirty-two colours used throughout the classrooms which provide about six different colour combinations.

Every classroom has a sink with hot and cold water, a reading room set in the corner with a large bay window and cupboards instead of cloakrooms for the children to hang their clothes. Everything, such as height of desks, chairs, blackboards and counters is scaled to fit age group to be in that room.

A first for any school in British Columbia — and possibly in Canada — is the large “picture” or “show” window in each classroom which overlooks the hallways. These

windows are set in the wall and the children can display their work for visitors and other children to see. The kindergarten classroom is self-contained with its own washroom and has a large fireplace, toyland curtains, piano, fish pond and reading corner.

This school was destroyed by arson in May of 1973 and the building that replaced it had none of the outstanding features of the one which burned.

 

« 10-028: North Dawson School

10-030: Notre Dame School, Dawson Creek »

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