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The Huron Expositor, 1953-09-25, Page 9Public School Opening Edition SEAFORTH, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1953 Public School , Opening Edition ew School Evinces educational Progress Seaforth's Growth From1867 Marked by School Additions Y;, 4p • New schools are not notable boring town, Clinton, this fall op Listowel, Exeter and Goderlch h new public school, shown here urban municipalities. Architects tractors were Pounder Bros,, St for their scarcity in Huron and ened doors to a new $345,000 pubs ave all, in the past two years, con in architect's elevation, ranks well for the school were Shore and Mo ratford. See Page 7 of this section Perth. Seaforth's nearest neigh- ic school. Lucknow, St.- Marys, strutted new schools. Seaforth's with biose of its neighboring ffat, Toronto;"" and general con - for the sohool plan outline. Features of New School Manifest Latest Advances in Construction and Equipment Jnlst what does this $275,000 addition to Seaforth's landscape look- like? What .are its outstand- ing -features of construction, and what are the latest advances in institutional appointments incor- porated in its equipping? What are ?local ratepayers, and their chil- dren, going to realize in benefit and enjoyment from the nature of this handsome structure? For those in- terested in the answers, and in other detailed information about the :new Public School, here is a • ` descriptive . outline. The school is all on ground floor r. level and has a red ,brick ex- terior. 'Construction is wall -bearing `` throughout, with steel joists and two-inch tongue -and -groove wood deck, with a 20 -year bonded roof. All windows have aluminum sills and are double glazed for greater comfort and fuel economy. All ex- • terior walls arid all roof areas are insulated. . The heating system is forced hot water converted from steam in the centrally located mechanical room, and all main roonis are served with a supply - and exhaust ventilation system. Complete P.A. System The lighting system is fluorescent and was designed to give a mini- mum of 30 foot candles in the class MOMS. The school is served with a pub- lic address 'system with speakers in " all main rooms and outside to serve the playing fields. The pro - grain bells are a part of the Xmas- • ter clock system and sound auto- matically at pre-set times. There is a complete safety .bre alarm system. Outside area lighting is controlled by automatic timers which operate these lights at pre- determined times. An imposing piece of stone sculp- • ture, by the .prominent 'Canadian %, sculptor, E. Cox, Is featured at the concrete canopied main entrance. The canopy, low In keeping with { '" the design and function of the build- • ing, leads into a terrazzo floored lobby which has a built-in trophy case -on one side and, on the other, ' entrance doors to the 401 at 65P multirpurpose room and stage. Thio room was designed for games, • gymnastics, and extra -curriculum • activities and can also be -used for community gatherings. Colorful Terrazzo Floors ri Behind' the stage is the boiler roome sufficiently large to accom- . modate an additional boiler to care for future classroom expansion. • All' corridor floors are of perm- ., anent, colorful terrazzo. The cor- k ridor'.wallp have cement enarheled dados for low maintenance. There -are eight well -lighted classrooms, all having acoustic plaster ceilings, • teas* tile floors, and large areas of brown cork tackboard. Eye -sav- ing green chaIh boards have been incorporated in the design to safe - ,4 guards students' sight. Eadb classroom has its own rdho'be and project counter, com- An Enviable Record The opening of the new Seaforth Public School marks another milestone in the history of education in Seaforth. The new building, in its exterior appearance and in its appointments, is a far cry from the building which it replaces. But there is this in common : Both were planned, in the light of edu- cational and technical practises of the day, to provide the maximum in educational benefits to the youth of Seaforth. While by present-day standards and in com- parison to the new school, the building that is be- ing retired is poorly arranged, inconvenient and outmoded in every respect, it must be remembered that in so far as acquiring an education is con- cerned, the building in which it is acquired is but the means to an end.6 The end, of course, is the acquisition on tyle part of the attending pupils, not only of a broad, knowledge, but the birth in them of a healthy curiosity—about their work, the welfare of their fellow citizens, and the place they themselves will occupy and the responsibili- ties they will assume in their community. The arousing of a desire for knowledge is, of course, the responsibility of the staff and Seaforth may well be proud of the enviable record which has been established in this respect by those who were teachers through the years in the old school. We have no doubt but that Seaforth will be equally proud of the job which will be done by those who during the years to come will serve in the new schodl. plete with wash-up sink and stor- age cupboards. In addition to the Who's Who for First a classrooms, there is a large, semi- Time, as the saying goes, marches on; and with time is the matching pace of progress. Progress, with its fair kin, prosperity, has character- ized the growth of Seaforth and district, not only in social, agricultural and industrial measure, but just as well in educational advancement. Latest evidence in this phase of progress is the gleaming $275,000 School, which sprawls over seven acres at the western edge of town. This handsome structure, which CompareSchoolCosts earlier this month opened its doors to nearly 350 youngters, is describ ed and illustrated lee detail eri - In 1876 to Present Seaforth's new public school will cost over $275,000. In 1952 approxi- mate operating cost in the old build- ing amounted to some $26,286. Of this figure, some $20,791 was paid over the year to nine teachers in salaries. This year -both items of expense will be higher, plus the added expense of debenture inter- est and principal payment. But, needless to say„.timea were different nearly 90 years ago, when the old public school was built for about one -twenty-fifth of its 1953 successor. As different as the times, were the school operating and salary costs. As an item of comparative inter. est in this connection, the following item is reprinted from an edition of The Expositor in 1876: "There are now two male and five female teachers employed. The salaries paid are as follows: First, $650; second, $450; third, $310; fourth, $300; fifth, $250; sixth, $250; seventh, $225; making a total for salaries of $2,435 per annum. Dur- ing the first half of 1875 the aver- age daily attendance of pupils was 336, and during the last six months of the year the average was 315. "According to the census recently taken, there are 592 children be- tween the ages of five and 16 at- tending school, and only three be- tween the ages of seven and 12 not attending any school. The trus- tees expended last year $3,241.55, and they carried over a balance to the present year of the amount raised over and above the expendi- ture of $866.24." Building Combines Many Crafts, Services As in the erection of any large, functional structure today, many talents, crafts, materials and .ser- vices combined or added their en- ergies to produce the achievement that is the Seaforth Public School. General contractor was Pounder Bros., of Stratford, while the archi- tect was the tlrm of Shore and Moffat, Toronto. Painting was sub- contracted to Elton Bean & Son, Listowel; erection of steel to Lon- don Steel Construction Ltd.; floor finishing in terrazzo and tile to Bernardo -Hill Tile Co., Kitchener; glassfittiing to Consolidated Glass Ltd., Toronto. circular kindergarten conapiete with V its own, entrance, cloak and toilet 1 ear o rooms and outside play yard. ew cnoo Bright Plaster Walls Who's who directory for Sea - In life administration area there forth's new Public School, opened is a principal's office with a vault, for business on iSeptember 8, 'but washroom and connecting officially to open October 1, con - private entrance to an adjacent classroom. tains the following names: Next to this is the teachers' room, also with •private washroom and access to a small kitchen designed for use during school hours and at social functions. The main washrooms have ter- razzo floors and cement enathel walls, pre -cast terrazzo toilet par- titions and efficient round group band washers. Throughout the building the fir woodwork'and trim will be stained and varnished a natural color for beauty and Tow maintenanee. The plaster walls will be painted in bright, cheerful colors, chosen for high light reflections and minimum eye strain. Seaforth P bl S as follows: F. E. Willis, chairman; M. McKellar, secretary -treasurer; Messrs. W. T. Teall, J. C. Stevens C. Broadfoot„ J. A. Westcott and Dr. P,'L. Brady. This Board has held office without change during the two years the school was plan- ned and under construction. Seaforth ,public School Staff— John W. Talbot, principal; Mrs. James A. MacDonald, Miss Mabel Turnbull, Miss Elia Elder, Mrs, Harvey, Mason, Mrs. Jason Ellis, Mrs. John Black, Ronald Morton, Evan Hoffman. Inspector is J. R. Kinkead, Goderich, Heating, ventilating, plumbing nd wiring were installrsd by Frank ling, Seaforth. Major suppliers to Mr. Kling in this extensive, four- phase part of the construction were: Canadian General Electric Co. Ltd., London; Livingston Stok- er Sales Ltd., Hamilton; Minneapo- lis Honeywell Regulator Co, Ltd., Leaside. Peffer Sound Equipment Ltd., Kitchener, installed the inter- communication sound system. The u is chool Board is boiler was supplied' by Robert Bell .Industries Ltd., Seaforth. Draperies and curtains were sup - /tiled by Stewart Bros„ Seaforth, and by O. H. Evans Sons, Toron- to. Furnishings were supplied by G. A. Whitney, Seaforth, Hay Sta- t tionery Ltd., London, and Standard Tt1be and T.I., Toronto. On succeeding ,pages of this ape- t. tial edition will he found campli- g mentary or congratulatory mes- A sages to the Public School Board f and citizens from most of the z above-mentioned firms who played z a part in the building of the new c school. where on this page and in this sec- tion. But what • of the old public school? The one now deserted and forlorn after ringing with the voic- es and laughter of young scholars since the bear of Confederation? What is there known of its eon- structi'on, its problems with space and facilities, with growing •popu- lation as the years •before the turn of the century saw increasing set- tlement in Seaforth and nearby? In 186? Seaforth public school trustees built a two -room, light brick school. Two stories high, it comprised what is now the centre and north section of the school. At the time there were two teach- ers, one more than taught public school before 1867 in Seaforth. The trustees figured this advancement— more teachers and a new school --would attend to the town's edu- cational requirements for some time . More Settlement—More Children But by 1872 times had changed, and a note in the March 12 issue of The Expositor of that year read: "As will be seen by an advertise- ment elsewhere, the trustees of the Seaforth school ask for tenders for the erection of a wing to the •pres- ent school building. This step has been rendered necessary by the in- -crease of pupils at the school with- inthe last year or two. Some five or six years ago there was but one teacher in the :Seaforth school, now there are five." So, in 1872 the first addition, what is now the south wing, was built. Later that year, in the July 26 edition of The Expositor, the edi- tor commented: "The new Wing to our public school building is be- ing pushed forward rapidly by Mr. Fisher, the contractor. The brick work Is now completed, and the roof on. It presents •a very hand- some appearance, and besides add- ing materially to the comfort and convenience of the children, when completed, will be an ornament to .the village" In 1876, with more settlement and still more children, the trustees' optimism of a few years before about the size of their school was wiped out again. The Expositor notes: . Five years ago there were only three teachers employ- ed, this year there are seven and still some of the departments are overcrowded. The school building, which has already been twice en- larged, has again become too small, and in order to afford the necessary accommodation the trus- tees are forced to secure the erec- tion of another wing during the coming summer,. The Last Addition So in 1876 another projected joined the six -room school, this time the addition appearing at the rear of the school. But that wasn't all. 'While this accommodation proved sufficient to care for the enrolment of the next Pew years, around the turn of the century the trustees found it necessary to en- large again. The fourth, and last, projection was added at. the rear to finally' complete the eight -room school. ,And so the building remained un- il 1953. Despite fluctuating shape and size through 8.6 years, the chool sheltered the early educa- ional growth of more than three enerations of Seaforth •children. nd through those 86 years, Sea- orth's teachers, trustees and Citi• ens shaped and nurtured with eal that same growth of their hildren . . But that's another story.. •