Waverly Park School’s 25th anniversary celebration rekindles fond memories

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This article was published 23/09/2016 (3507 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The students of Waverly Park School may have dabbed to Justin Timberlake in celebration of school’s 25th anniversary, but the modern-day flare didn’t hinder the memories for those who came before them.

“When I looked at the crowd, it was like stepping back in time,” said Jim Cornett, the first principal of Waverly Park School. “The faces are different, but it’s the same atmosphere.”

The school invited those young and old to celebrate hitting the quarter-century milestone on Thursday. The school opened in September 1991 with 10 classes, 20 staff members and around 250 students.

“I started before the school was built, and at that time there was nothing but prairie here,” Cornett said. “We had to pull a lot of staff together … they came from all walks, some of them were brand new … it was their first job.”

Now, two additions later, the school boasts 18 classes, 43 staff members and a student population of 415. But the most surprising difference for current students to see was that the school once had chalkboards.

“The chalkboards are now all white boards and smart boards … a lot has changed over the years but there are so many memories,” said Karen Taylor, one of three remaining teachers still at Waverly Park since it opened.

Taylor has taught a variety of grades over the years, but still remembers her first one.

“I taught Grade 3 in Room 3,” Taylor said. “When we first started, we were so excited we got the desks in time. We weren’t sure if we would.”

Cornett also recalls many of the struggles and surprises that came along with opening a new school.

“We didn’t even have the gym floor installed and we were already in progress, we had to have gym classes outside,” Cornett said. “I remember wheeling in the filing cabinets days before classes started, it was nip and tuck right to the end.”

Reminiscing about the good old days wasn’t only for the teachers, as past students wandered the halls that, seemingly just yesterday, used to be their own.

“It’s amazing … a lot of things have changed, especially the (team) name, it used to be the White Caps when I was here, now it’s the Sharks,” said Jamie White, who was in Grade 5 when he started at Waverly Park when it opened.

“Now my kids go here, I have a five-year-old and an eight-year-old, but this just brings back memories.”

White remembers it being intimidating going to a new school, but said it was also fun because it was a completely new experience for the area of town.

“You weren’t the new kid, everybody was the new kid. That was kind of neat,” White said.

The current student body was just as excited for the school to hit the milestone as past students were, taking part in different events and activities, including the opening of a time capsule that was soldered shut back in 1991 and placed in the wall of the school. Rumour has it some teachers also hid items in the ceiling tiles, some of which were found and on display as well.

“Any time you see the kids this excited it warms your heart,” said current principal Rick Stallard. “The kids have been absolutely fantastic through this process … in the last couple of days the excitement has been rising …the kids have been very much a part of this.”

After months of planning, Stallard and teachers alike said a highlight was seeing old colleagues back in the school halls.

“We’ve had a lot of fun …It’s great to see everyone we haven’t seen for years. There’s so many hugs. It’s wonderful,” Taylor said.

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