To honour and celebrate the 100 years of Vernon Central School/École Beairsto School, we have offered this forum for former students, parents, and staff to post stories or memories of their time at Beairsto School. These stories will be collected and housed in our library and will also be presented during an open house event to be held in the fall of 2009. It is our deepest hope that your stories and memories will reach across the years and give our present students a window on how different the school was when you spent time at the school. You may tell us anything--a funny story, a favourite teacher, a popular game, a change in the architecture, a "best day"--whatever. We ask only that you keep your stories or memories positive as they are for our present young students. Please check back to this website in early September to find out when we will be holding our open house so that you may attend. If you wish to email your story, please send it to brobertson@sd22.bc.ca. If you wish to send it by snail mail, please send it to:
Brendan Robertson
Beairsto Elementary School
3302 27th St.
Vernon, BC
V1B 3V5
You may send any digital/scanned photos to the above email address as these would be greatly appreciated. To write your story just add it as a comment by clicking on "comment" bellow this text.
Thanks in advance.
Brendan Robertson
My fondest memory from Beairsto school had to have been the annual carnival and "Cabin de sucre" held in the winter. It was not only a good excuse to get out of class but also a great way to expose students to the french culture in our own country. These seemingly small activities really helped me understand that learning French could actually be practical, which can sometimes be hard for children who struggle, and it made me feel connected to the language/culture all through out high school.
ReplyDeleteNiquita Eng
After spending kindergarten at another school, I can clearly recall being in awe at the sheer size of Beairsto School. I can still remember peering up at Mrs. Banducci from below the office counter wondering how in the world I was going to understand my new teacher, Mme. Gravel, when she spoke in a language I had only heard on "Sesame Street" from time to time.
ReplyDeleteTo my surprise, I quickly adapted to my new surroundings and took a liking to learning a new language as well as almost everything else "huge" new school. I never did come to appreciate the "blue bench," however.
Some of my most vivid memories include playing on the enormous tractor tires on the playground and sliding down icy slides in the winter. Another recollection is sledding at Silver Star during our winter "Carnaval," and then tasting delicious, rich maple syrup out of the snow ("tire").
Also, how could I forget being part of the inaugural group of students to have class on the newly renovated top floor next to the beautiful domed library (which up until that year had us convinced was haunted by Mr. Beairsto himself).
I also remember playing rugby in the snow and then having to wait at least 10 minutes for my fingers to "thaw" before writing anything later in class.
As for lunchtime, I will never forget loonie and toonie lunches or heading to "RJ's for potato wedges.
The train whistles and church bells still resonate in my ears... literally!
Finally, I will never forget coming back to the school and once again seeing Mme. Banducci's smiling face behind the counter. I guess my memories were so fond I had to come back and experience it again... as a teacher. So far so good. --Mr. Cox