Then & Now
72 | CAMPBELL RIVER MIRROR | FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016
www.CampbellRiverMirror.com
Carl Cooper, 1978 Grad Glyn Fitzgerald award winner that year (top all-around student) Captain Basketball team Attended UBC -Science Degree, Masters of Education Currently, after 20 years as a school principal now a Director of Instruction in Salmon Arm
Carol Morgan and Steve Aydon 1977 Grad High school sweethearts Got married and had 3 kids. Have 5 grand daughters now
History of Carihi
By Anthony Akelaitis,
Carihi teacher from 1967-1989
C
arihi Secondary School is located in Campbell River, B.C., and is a fully accredited educational institution offering grades 10, 11 and 12. Carihi has an outstanding academic history and the school has a diverse student population along with a rich cultural tradition of tolerance, individuality, creativity and understanding of ethnic and racial differences Carihi offers a variety of educational programs to meet the needs of the students in attendance. In September 1992, Carihi became a dual track English and French Immersion school. Before 1965, Carihi was a grade 8 through grade 12, school located on Seventh Avenue. In 1965, Carihi was divided into two educational institutions consisting of a junior high school offering grades 8, 9 and 10 located at the original Carihi site on Seventh Avenue and a new senior secondary school offering grades 11, 12, and 12 at a new school site on Dogwood Street. The first principal of the new Campbell River Senior Secondary School was John Young. Mr. Young became provincially, nationally and internationally known for
Kerry Lutrell was the first recipient. This award is given to the best student in the graduating class exhibiting excellent academic achievement, along with outstanding leadership and athletic ability. The first female recipient of the Glyn Fitzgerald Award was Barbara Ross who graduated from Carihi in 1971. To this day, the Glyn Fitzgerald Award remains the most prestigious honour that a graduating Carihi student can receive. When the Campbell River his progressive educational Junior Secondary School philosophy. As principal of was destroyed by fire in the new senior secondary late August of 1976, the school, Mr. Young believed Campbell River Senior that students should learn Secondary School housed to be responsible for their both senior and junior educational decisions. To students on a shift system. achieve this objective, Mr. The senior students Young with the support occupied the premises of the school staff, in the morning while the implemented the “Freedom junior students, staff and with Responsibility Plan”. administrators occupied the This educational strategy building in the afternoon. was based on the concept The shift was ended upon of granting students completion of Phoenix who were senior scholars Junior Secondary School in and/or subject scholars January 1979. discretionary educational Carihi operated as the decision making rights Campbell River Senior as long as the student Secondary School from maintained a “B” or better 1965 through June 1984. average. Due to a reorganization of From September 1965, the structure of secondary through December of that schools in Campbell River year, the new Campbell to take effect in September River Senior Secondary 1984, the Campbell River School operated in the senior Secondary became a afternoons at the original grade 8 through 12 school Carihi site. In January again. The school name of 1966, the staff and was officially changed students moved to the from the Campbell River newly completed school on Senior Secondary School Dogwood Street. The “Class to Carihi (Campbell River of 1966” was the first group High School) and the block of students to graduate from letters of the senior school the new school. The Glyn name on the east wall Fitzgerald Award was given on Dogwood Street were for the first time at the 1966 auctioned off. Originally, Graduation Ceremony and the term “Carihi” was the
CLAIRE
Sean Wagner Grad Night Sharon Rene Swakum (Rene Wagner)
has fond memories of Carihi. Making life long friends, playing soccer with the girls & art class with Ms Dixon.
name of the school annual as far back as 1950 and was not the official name of any school in Campbell River until 1984. In September 1988, Carihi ceases to be a junior-senior school and became a senior secondary school once again offering grades 10, 11 and 12, with the grade 8 and 9 students attending Phoenix Junior High School on Seventh Avenue. The main reason for this change in the grade composition of Carihi was due to a belief by a number of parents and educators that a senior secondary school would have greater resources and student numbers to offer a wide variety of courses and programs to broaden the opportunities and experiences of senior students. When this structural change occurred, the school retained the name “Carihi”. Carihi is a dynamic school culturally and academically. The school’s cultural and academic orientation dates back to the school’s founding in 1965. Educational success along with tolerance and the acceptance of diversity have always been the main traits of Carihi’s school culture. From the school’s beginning to the present, the academic traditions and school culture have continued to evolve and be refined with each generation of Carihi students. Throughout the school’s history, Carihi teachers and administrators have been creative in devising programs to furnish the students with a broad spectrum of educational opportunities. The “Senior Scholar – Subject Scholar
Program” along with the “Work Experience Program” were two such strategies employed in the late 1960’s. The “Humanities, Environmental Studies and Office Simulation Programs” were devised in the 1970’s to present students with the opportunity to concentrate on a special area of knowledge. Other programs implemented at Carihi in the 1970’s, included music, art and drama. Mr. Tom Austin was instrumental in establishing the music program which has continued to evolve at Carihi. The Art Program has added a cultural dimension to Carihi and Campbell River with the exhibition of student art at both the school and the Tidemark Theatre. A high point of the Art Program was the close working relationship between the Grad Committee and the art department that developed in the 1980’s resulting in each graduate creating a silk banner that became part of Carihi’s grad decorations in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. The drama department produced outstanding productions of “Peter Pan” and “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamboat” in the 1970’s with Carihi now having its own theatre, “The Miracle Theatre”. The 1980’s witnessed the birth of the Carihi Scholarship Club. In 1982, a number of Carihi teachers established the Scholarship Club to provide students with extra instruction to prepare for provincial scholarship examinations and commencing in 1984 government final examinations in grade 12
Wanda LeNaour Johnson 1969 Grad A very memorable year!!!
courses. The success of this program is exhibited by the large number of Carihi students qualifying for provincial scholarships annually and the above average marks achieved by Carihi students on provincial examinations. In the 1990’s, Carihi was one of the first three schools in British Columbia to establish a First Nations Studies Program. The Native Studies Program incorporated First Nations history, culture and traditions into the Social Studies 10 and 11 courses in addition to the introduction of the Native Studies 12 course. In recognition of the close connection between Carihi and the First Nation’s communities in Campbell River and on Quadra Island, Bill, Junior and Greg Henderson carved the totem pole in front of the Carihi Library for the school. Currently, Ray Wilson is the Native Studies teacher at Carihi. Ray was a 1993 Carihi graduate and he is the first First Nations graduate of the school to teach at Carihi. Two other significant programs that emerged at Carihi in the 1990’s were the Flex and Media Programs. The Flex Program satisfied the learning needs of students who want an alternative approach to education. The Flex Program motivates students to stay in school to complete grade 12 while at the same time allowing students to express and develop their creativity through film production, the Media Program has increased communication within the school and between Carihi and the Campbell River community as many of its productions can be viewed on C.R.T.V.
The Carihi Media Program has won recognition locally, provincially and nationally for the quality of its productions. Since its inception, Carihi has offered its students a large and varied athletic program. In 1965, boys and girls basketball, curling and girls grass hockey were the most popular student sports. Today, the Carihi athletic program offers wrestling, soccer, rugby, volleyball, basketball, track and field, golf, swimming and tennis. The 1983 Carihi boys basketball team was the first Carihi basketball team in the history of the school to qualify to attend the B.C. Provincials where the team placed fifth. Since 1983, six Carihi boys basketball teams have qualified to attend the “Provincials” placing first, third, fourth, sixth and ninth. Carihi is a vibrant and cosmopolitan educational institution. Nay of the philosophical aspects of the school culture and academic programs serve as a model for what other B.C. secondary schools want to achieve. Also, many of the ideas and programs that evolved at Carihi have been adopted provincially which was brought about fundamental change in the nature of B.C. secondary education since 1965. Each Carihi graduate, teacher, administrator, and parent can be proud of the contribution that she/he made to the development of the Carihi culture and the academic reputation of the school.
Congratulations Carihi on your 50th!!
TREVENA
MLA
North Island
Campbell River Community Office: 908 Island Hwy Campbell River, V9W 2C3
Phone: 250-287-5100 or 866-387-5100 Fax: 250-287-5105 claire.trevena.mla@leg.bc.ca www.clairetrevena.ca
Cassidy Hinsberger
Jasmine MacGregor
Nigel Neufeld
carihi@campbellrivermirror.com