Five-sided classrooms and a six-sided gymnasium debuted at Quinson elementary 50 years ago.
For Trelle Morrow, the architect of the school, it was simply about making the best school possible, rather than just trying to do something different.
"This arose from research I was doing with Dave Todd who was the superintendent of the district at the time (and who D.P. Todd school is named after)," said Morrow. "Around 1960 there was quite a bit of thought given to different teaching methods and the methods that were involved had students in small groups. They wanted a flexible classroom where they could move the kids around a bit and put them in different groups."
Morrow said this theory came from the Winnetka Plan from Illinois-based Winnetka School District 36, that attempted to expand educational focus into creative activities for emotional and social development. Children were not pressured to work at the same pace as others, he added.
"There were avant garde people changing teaching methods and a lot of that spilled into Canada and Dave Todd was really into that, so we decided then to create a classroom that would cater to some of these innovations in teaching methods," said Morrow. "We came up with this five-sided classroom and that gave us five corners and gave us five walls that allowed the teachers to arrange the seating in any one of five positions in the classroom and gave them more flexibility. What's happened, and what's still there today in Quinson, is that by pushing that fifth wall out into a point and making the pentagon, they have an activity corner where there are tables and chairs and they can have a small group doing a separate project. So that's the idea of wanting to cater to a variety of groups that might have a different rate of progress."
The gymnasium is a six-sided hexagon that works very well space-wise, Morrow explained.
"On one side of the hexagon there is the stage facility and on the opposite side from the stage is storage rooms and a mezzanine on top used for band," said Morrow. "Then in between the stage and storage a rectangular shape was left, and that was the games area for basketball and volleyball and the like. The hexagon gymnasium proved quite successful and I believe there were six installed in the district. Quinson was the first, then came Highland, Spruceland, Carney Hill, Blackburn and Mackenzie. It was a pace setter and Quinson was the experimental school then in two avenues, the teaching methods for small groups and a more flexible gymnasium for a multitude of activities."
Tom Makowsky is vice principal at Quinson elementary and has been teaching at the school for the last 14 years. His sister, Debbie Rowe, is also the Kindergarten Grade 1 teacher at the school.
"I'm also a former student," said Makowsky. "So I have a long history with the school. Quinson elementary school was built during a time of great economic boom and optimism in Prince George. The pulp mills were being built in the early 60s and the forest industry was in full swing and the town was really growing. Quinson was here and my first year was as a Grade 2 student and that's when Highland and Spruceland got built and these subdivisions virtually popped up overnight. There were a lot of working-class families in the neighbourhood and there were lots of children where the school was the whole focal point of our growing community and mirrored what was happening in Prince George as a whole."
Makowsky remembers the school as a Grade 2 student. It was always a friendly place, with lots of students, he said.
"The teachers were very welcoming and there was no shortage of people to play with on the school ground," said Makowsky. "It was always a very positive place."
Makowsky lives in the neighbourhood and came back to teach.
"Because for me elementary school education was a really positive experience in my life and the opportunity to come back to a place where I had so many great friends and outstanding teachers that made a difference in my life, to be able to go back to that same community and contribute in that same way, I just couldn't pass up that opportunity. It was like a dream come true."
According to the Quinson elementary website the school opened with 150 students. Makowsky said it peaked about mid-60s to late 70s at about 600 students and now has about 190 students.
"Numbers have gone down and we provide a greater number of supports and services to students than when I was a student here," said Makowsky. "We now have an aboriginal education department and social worker, we have a resource teacher, and many assistant teachers and we have a school with full integration for students with special needs. I would also say that we now have greater ethnic and cultural diversity than when we had before and we have a fabulous music program."
There is instruction initiatives like assessments for learning with guided reading and guided math where everyone works together, said Makowsky.
"There's definitely a paradigm shift from a traditional instructional model to something that's more flexible, more diverse that incorporates social, emotional learning where you're looking at the whole student's well being to address all needs of that student, not just their educational needs."
The school will start off their 50th anniversary celebration May 8 with a pancake breakfast from 7:45 to 9 a.m. and everyone is welcome to attend. From 6 to 8 p.m. the school is having a meet and greet with refreshments and everyone is welcome to attend that event as well, especially past and present students and teachers. There will be a historical display depicting Quinson's history.
Makowksy says anyone who wishes to contribute artifacts from the school's history can call him at 250-562-1161.
"We're really excited to celebrate our 50th anniversary," said Makowsky. "It's going to be great to get everyone together to celebrate this milestone."
