Oak Bay News, September 09, 2015

Page 1

Market Night

Tonight marks the last Night Market of the year Page A3

NEWS: Paddlers pull for families facing cancer /A3 COMMUNITY: Oak Bay United Church open house /A9 SPORTS: Golfers tee up for KidSport /A15

OAK BAYNEWS Wednesday, September 9, 2015

oakbaynews.com

Lifesaving donation

Oak Bay Kiwanis member Roy Patt works the new Jaws of Life Oak Bay Fire Department purchased thanks to fundraising efforts of the Kiwanis and Athlone Travel. Together the two groups raised $27,000 for the new equipment. Athlone’s Liz Smith was also on hand Friday to learn the ins and outs of extricating a person from a vehicle, with help from Oak Bay firefighters, including Duane Adsett and Andy Michaluk, supervising here. Jennifer Blyth/Oak Bay News

Oak Bay High gets it right Jim Zeeben News staff

Oak Bay High School officially opened its doors yesterday with all but a final few elements still being finished up. “It’s so much more than we could have ever believed possible,” says principal Dave Thomson, noting that the overwhelming response has been nothing short of gobsmacked. “So many people decided to get it right.” Built with a budget of $55 million,

the new school covers 151,000 squarefeet and incorporates a flexible design that should help it meet the needs of students for most of this century. The building replaces the former Oak Bay High, which had stood next door since 1929. In 1993, a seismic report recommend major upgrades to that building. However, after further review, the decision was made to build a new school rather than retrofit the old one. “You start to look at it and it’s more expensive to fix than replace,” Thom-

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son said, noting that the old buildings had been there for years but they didn’t qualify as heritage. Still, it was a special place for many former students and staff, and the new building incorporates many elements that pay tribute to the school’s history. Thomson credits Farmer Construction, the local firm contracted to build the school, with making an extra effort to create a legacy. PLEASE SEE: A place you want to be, Page A4

Top 5 jaw-dropping features at the new Oak Bay High n Top 5 reasons to be gobsmacked by the new Oak Bay High School, according to principal Dave Thomson: 1. Modern theatre among the best of any school in the country; 2. Flexible teaching areas that take mere minutes to reconfigure; 3. Technology, including video and audio systems throughout the building; 4. Design that promotes social interaction and friendly spaces; 5. Sight lines that inspire kids who realize the effort was made for them.

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