On June 23, the last playful shouts of students filled the air at the Bulkley Valley Christian Elementary School as the grade 7 class graduated, ending the campus’ 50 year run.
Beginning next school year, kindergarten to grade 7 will be conducting their studies in the lower level of the Bulkley Valley Christian School’s secondary campus on 14th Avenue. As enrollment has dropped everywhere in the province, the BVCS board had to amalgamate the campuses.
On Friday some of the last bits of the school — computers, desks, some televisions — were being carried out into waiting trucks but volunteers, staff and students.
Klaas Kort, BVCS elementary principal for the past five years, said the move went even better than they could have planned.
“[The move has] been fabulous. The way it has been going, there’s been a lot of planning for this and we were kind of worried about how it was all going to happen but then when the actual move arrived it was just amazing how the community swooped down on the school,” he said. “There are so many parents who have come out and helped.”
The Bulkley Valley Christian School purchased the old mobile unit of the Northwest Community College and added it to the secondary school campus. Now renovated, it will hold the grade 7 to 9 classes, in addition to an arts room, a french room and a computer lab.
The preschool to grade 6 classes will occupy the school’s lower levels.
The move is bittersweet for staff, who celebrated the campus’ 50th anniversary this year.
“For the kids it’s probably more exciting than for the staff. A lot of staff have been here for a long time, and it’s not easy,” said Kort. “To have to close your doors on the year of your 50th anniversary in the place where it all started, that can be a little traumatic. But at the same time we’re excited about being able to come together.”
There are some administrative changes for the school, including some office staff reduction and cuts to librarian hours.
The elementary campus is now listed for sale.
Kort said he’ll miss going to work every day at the old elementary school.
“Just coming here everyday. We have a great staff at this campus and that’s been one of the treasures of these last five years,” he said.
A few of the students are looking forward to starting at the new campus next year.
Tyrel Goodson, a grade 7 student helping in the move, said he’s pretty excited about the change.
Yet for Dylan Taekema, a fellow student helping with the heavy lifting last Friday, he said that it’s funny going off to the secondary campus and having the whole rest of the student body following along.
“We’re not really leaving,” he said.