HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-06-21, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2000.
Former principal shares his memories of WPS
By Paul Carroll, former
Principal, Superintendent and
Director of Education
I went back to visit Walton PS last
month. It was a trip that brought
back many memories. I remembered
my first ‘official’ visit to the school
in 1981, when then-Director John
Cochrane appointed me as the prin
cipal of the newly-twinned Seaforth
& Walton Public Schools. At the
time I was proud to be ‘on the road’
travelling between the schools - but I
never did regret my own decision to
’de-twin' the schools and return a
full time principal to Walton PS in
the middle 1990s, when I got to sit in
the director’s chair as the final role
in my own career.
Walton was just too important to
share a senior administrator with
another school. It knew how to stand
alone. It did so for 20 years before it
was twinned. And it is certainly
standing tall - on its own - as its final
weeks of operation are upon us.
When I first worked at Seaforth
Public, 1 learned that Walton PS was
a proud entity. It took care of its
kindergarten to Grade 3 population
quite properly. The principal, Marie
Toll, called the shots, but she called
them extremely well. The curricu
lum was delivered efficiently and
according to the Ministry expecta
tions of the day; the pedagogy was a
reflection of the parental values in
the school area.
And the school knew how to par
ticipate with the larger community.
With a population drawn from three
different townships, it was necessary
for Marie and her staff to head in dif
ferent directions to ensure that the
school gave support to each separate
community with equity and with
equivalent enthusiasm.
Such was the challenge of alternat
ing on a biennial basis to participate
in the Brussels and Seaforth Fall
Fairs. One of the biggest mistakes I
ever made while I was administering
the school was to think that life
would be simpler for me and the
staff if we focussed our efforts in
only the Seaforth direction. It took
only one year to remember that our
school community had more than
one component. I soon learned to
pay heed to the whole community!
And quite frankly, fhere seems to
be a little bit of that cross-communi
ty vision to be sorted out at this time,
as the Walton PS doors are closed
and the kids head off to their new
home at Seaforth Public.
It is clear to me that Walton PS has
‘class’. Reading the history of the
school told me that the element of
‘class’ was present that first
December, in late 1962, when
Wilfred Shortreed, board chair and
Jim Kinkhead, School Inspector, led
the student parade that short distance
from one of the former schools, still
standing across the road at
McGavin’s, to the spanking new
building which now forms the core
of the current facility.
No doubt that ‘class' continued as
the bubbling and excited kids cut the
ribbon at the fresh and shiny door
way, and as ‘LP’, Larry Plumsteel, a
former principal
from Seaforth
DHS delivered
the celebratory
remarks at the
official opening
ceremonies a few
days later.
Throughout the
years, the ‘class’
continued. You
could always see
it in the twinkle of Marie Toll
Marie Toll’s eyes as she spoke
proudly about her school and the
children when the new crop of grade
three graduates made its annual trek
to SPS for orientation in preparation
for grade four. The ‘class’ was there
in the commitment of the school’s
first reassigned principal, Helen
Crocker, as she attempted to ensure a
balance between the academic and
hands on components for learning.
You can hear it today in the com
In June 1995 as director of education for the county, Paul
Carroll, a former principal presented a picture of teacher
Shirley Lyon, deceased, to her husband Murray.
The job begins
In September, 1993, the construction began on the new addition at Walton Public School.
ments of Alice McDowell, current
principal, as she relates detailed
plans for the several special events
planned to celebrate the life and
times of Walton PS, as the school
and the community move forward to
the last school day.
During my recent visit to the
school, heads were held high. It was
a sad time. But if this was to be the
reality then, ‘‘we'll do it with style”
seemed to be the modus operandi for
staff, for the parents, the kids and the
community. There is no point (and
the staff and parents seem to recog
nize it) in looking back, pointing fin
gers, or lamenting “If only we had
done this or that.”
The doors for Walton PS will close
at the end of June in the year 2000.
The event will also close an era
where small schools thrived in small
and close knit communities and
where family connections were
uppermost as the school struggled to
fulfill its educational and social
roles.
Walton can tum the key proudly.
The school board can lock the door,
And recognition
Like her colleague Shirley Lyon, the late Barb Elston was
honoured for her dedication and service to Walton’s teach
ing staff. Her husband Keith accepts the portrait.
but it will only create a storehouse of
fond memories, and a treasure chest
of sound traditions. The community
members can use these trophies as
the springboard for moving forward,
to continue the convention of strong
support for the children and young
people from McKillop, Morris and
Grey, and for upholding all of those
things that have been important for
the proper education of these chil
dren.
Travel forward to nurture them -
and continue to do it with ‘class’!
We're going to miss you!
McGavin
Farm Supply Ltd. & Farm Equipment Ltd.
Walton
Walton
9th Annual
“Celebration of Canadian Motocross”
August 17-20, 2000
Best Wishes students & staff
of Walton School
in your future endeavours.
D & J Construction
Jim McDonald
R.R. #2 Brussels 887-9607
A Big Thank You to
the Walton Community for
all the fundraising help over the years
Walton School Advisory Council