Canada’s Oldest First Nations Newspaper - Serving Nuu-chah-nulth-aht since 1974 Canadian Publications Mail Product Vol. 39 - No. 24- Dec. 13, 2012 haas^i>sa “Innteresstinng Newss” Sales Agreement No. 40047776
A new dawn, a new day and feeling good about ADSS By Debora Steel Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter The new Alberni District Secondary School was officially opened by Education Minister Don McRae on Dec. 7 in a celebration that featured performances by the ADSS Jazz Band, Hupacasath dancers and glowing speeches about the long process to get the new school built in the valley. Minister McRae is a former social studies teacher in Comox and a student of the Comox Valley. He shared with the crowd that attended the grand opening his feelings about Alberni’s new school, one of the finest in all of British Columbia, he explained. It was the first school on Vancouver Island he had had the privilege of opening, he said. The Alberni Valley, he said, had been due for a new high school since the 1980s. He would come to the valley to compete in rugby tournaments at that time, and he said the school was then in need of upgrading. He was full of compliments about the new $58 million, state of the art school, which features a 500-seat theatre, two gymnasiums, a dance studio, an artificial turf sports field, an elders’ gathering space and youth health clinic. The school is also the very greenest of construction with a geothermal heat source and other efficiencies that will see a reduction in operating costs of more than 75 per cent of the former cost of running the old school. McRae also thanked the handful of students who
actually had a hand in building the new school as they learned some trades. There are many cultural touches in the school too that demonstrate the commitment of School District 70 to Aboriginal education in the school, including new carved interior doors that were created by Tseshaht artist Gordon Dick. They symbolize the arms of welcome. On one side of the doors there is a thunderbird and whale, which represent the Tseshaht people, whale hunters who have strong ties to the land and the sea. On the other side of the doors are two figures, a male and female representation, which symbolize all the future generations that will be connected to the school. Above the doors is a glass etching of a Nuu-chah-nulth canoe with paddles, which represents neighboring tribes, students, staff, parents and community partners all in one canoe traveling together to foster success. On the floor in front of the doors is the logo of the Hupacasath Nation, created by artist Ron Hamilton. It is a representation of a wolf head and tail. Continued on page 6.
The Tseshaht and Hupacasath peoples are represented through art in the new Alberni District Secondary School. Above the doors is a canoe with paddles, which represents people pulling together for a bright future.
The Hupacasath dancers performed at the grand opening ceremonies for the new Alberni District Secondary School on Dec. 7 in Port Alberni. School District 70 Superintendent Cam Pinkerton gives two thumbs up to the new Alberni District Secondary School.
Photos by Debora Steel
Inside this issue... Tla-o-qui-aht rejects treaty AIP....................................Page 2 March for a healthier community................................Page 4 NTC hosts staff celebration..........................................Page 5 Community and Beyond............................................Page 12 Quu’asa on the road in Vancouver, Seattle...Pages 13 & 14
Eileen Haggard, the elementary/secondary supervisor with the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, discusses the Native cultural touches throughout the new school, including the totem pole that was brought from the old school. Inset: Education Minister Don McRae officially opened ‘the best new school in British Columbia.’ If undeliverable, please return to: Ha-Shilth-Sa P.O. Box 1383, Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 7M2