Christian Heritage School marks a milestone with 40th anniversary

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This article was published 19/06/2015 (3791 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Upon visiting Christian Heritage School on the southwest edge of Brandon, you automatically sense there’s something that sets it apart from the rest of the schools in the city.

The drive along 26th Street goes from pavement to gravel before arriving at the school, nestled among the trees.

Entering the building, one gets the feeling this is more like a small rural school, with all of the students running around saying hi to every teacher they see.

And so it has been for the past four decades.

Last night, this small independent institution celebrated its 40th anniversary with a picnic and carnival on the school grounds. Current staff, students and their families mingled with former students, and there was plenty of reminiscing about the history of the school as it has grown and flourished.

On Sept. 8, 1975, Christian Heritage opened its doors to 18 students in a duplex on MacDonald Avenue.

“(The school) was the vision of Christian parents who wanted to instil the Christian faith and beliefs from the Bible into their children,” said principal Bryan Schroeder.

The school moved from the duplex to First Christian Reformed Church on Victoria Avenue and 15th Street, after which they partnered with Bethel Christian Assembly on Richmond Avenue. In 1989, they moved to the current school grounds on 26th Street.

Kathy Brown has been a resource teacher at the school for 29 years and has been there for many of these changes.

“We try to do one thing better each year and I feel we’ve been able to do that and it’s just slowly building on each other,” she said.

This year, Brown is excited about the 40th anniversary, but it is also marking her last year of teaching as she plans to retire this summer.

“I’m definitely going to miss the kids. I’m going to miss the staff — we have a wonderful working relationship with them,” she said. “I do hope to (substitute teach) a little bit, so that way, I can ease my way out.”

The curriculum also sets Christian Heritage apart from other city schools, as it integrates Bible teachings with the regular provincial curriculum.

“Our vision is to educate and equip children with kingdom of God’s views and values,” Schroeder said.

Every class in the kindergarten to Grade 8 school has a half-hour Bible class each day. They also have daily morning chapel for the entire school body.

The school receives 50 per cent of its funding from the province, with the remainder coming from tuition that all students pay.

There are 126 students in the school, with 40 different nations represented.

“We have to educate students at where their learning needs are at. We have a strong resource program, we have a strong EAL program,” Schroeder said.

Since the school has small class sizes, with an average of 15 students per class, it makes it easier for teachers to work with students for whom English is a second language or who have special needs.

Jane Dyck, a resource teacher and teacher librarian, credits the small class sizes as helping the students to get more personalized attention.

“(The students) share things that are heavy on their hearts, and as staff we get to talk to them and build relationships with them and pray with them,” she said.

Dyck has worked in the public school system before but she enjoys Christian Heritage because she knows all the students in the school — not just their names but also their backgrounds and what areas in which they either struggle or excel.

“Because it is a smaller school, I definitely have that ability to be able to have that knowledge and have that relationship with the kids,” she said.

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