As soon as it was known that 100 Mile House Junior Secondary was going to close in June 2013 and its students were going to be transferred to Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School, planning began to make the transition go a smoothly as possible.
In many ways, the 2012/13 school year was dedicated to this purpose.
School District #27 trustees and staff, PSO and Junior Secondary administration and staff, Parent Advisory Council members and, most importantly, students at both schools worked diligently to ensure the changes go forward without any major educational and student issues.
When the grade reconfiguration due to the closure of the Junior Secondary – kindergarten to Grade 8 at south end elementary schools and grades 9 to 12 at PSO – was first announced, concerns were voiced.
Some said it was unfair to make Grade 7 students stay another year at their elementary schools.
Others believed starting Grade 9 was too young for those transferring to PSO.
Then there were those who felt it was unfair to the PSO students to have younger students crowding them in their school that was traditionally a Grade 10-12 school with more mature students.
All of these arguments made good sense and they were certainly concerns that had to be addressed.
In the end, however, financial reality prevailed – budget constraints dictated school amalgamations and, in some cases, school closures.
The logical step was to prepare the students for the changes.
The fact that PSO principal Vic Brett was given the extra task of also being the principal of the Junior Secondary was a definite blessing.
He was able to help co-ordinate the changeover preparation for the staff and students at both schools.
A number of programs, including the Youth Empowerment Seminars (YES) were brought to both schools, and counsellors talked to students about important issues, including conflict resolution, responsibility, respect, friendliness, kindness and co-operation.
These values were tested at the Fuse-It-Up project during which Grade 10-11 PSO students invited Junior Secondary students to share their thoughts about the impending transition and learn how to build an accepting, respectful and fun group sharing the same facility.
It is clear the students from both schools have been given the tools to deal with the changes, and with gentle guidance and reinforcement, the transition should go smoothly and set the bar for years to come.
