Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday a banner was unfurled at Yellowknife Education District No. 1, a banner celebrating 2014 as the anniversary of 75 years of Educating for Life. Seventy-five years ago, on January 30, 1939, the original little log cabin schoolhouse now on Franklin Avenue in downtown YK was opened as the first school in Yellowknife. Eighteen students aged from six to 15 years attended classes under the guidance of Mr. Davies, their temporary teacher. A month later Ms. Mildred Hall arrived, the first permanent teacher for Yellowknife.
Life in Yellowknife was very basic in those days. There were about 1,000 non-Aboriginal residents in the area, no roads or airports, access was by ski or floatplane or water transport only.
Recognizing a need for education for the children in the communities, in November of 1938, a provisional school board raised over $1,000 to get the first school program running that winter. The election of the first school board on August 26, 1939, marks the first elected and accountable body in the NWT.
That first little school was cramped quarters for teacher and students. Classes were split into morning and afternoon shifts. In Ms. Mildred Hall’s own words, the first month on the job was utter chaos. “Eighteen pupils had to be crammed into a 16 foot square log building, 18 pupils whose ages ranged from six to 15, half of whom were juniors, who must be kept occupied despite a lack of desk materials, and the remainder seniors, most of whom, having been out of school for a year or two, had to be brought forward to their grades…without textbooks. Discipline, under such conditions, was almost unattainable and, in our cramped quarters, adequate heat meant no ventilation, and proper ventilation, with the thermometer registering from 40 to 50 below, meant shivering in bitter cold...”
Since then, YK education has evolved and grown. Now, in the three communities of Yellowknife, Ndilo and Detah, there are over 3,500 students and approximately 350 teachers working and learning in 13 schools administered by five school boards.
Yellowknife Education District No. 1 will celebrate their 75th anniversary all year long. For the Heritage Fair in May, students are encouraged to do a project on the history of YK District No. 1. There will be a display in the community area at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre from August through to October. There will be a written history compiled by local historian Ryan Silke and the launching of a dedicated Facebook page to help share the stories. The year will culminate with an event to be held in October 2014.
I want to say congratulations to everyone at YK No. 1 past and present on your significant achievement. Have a great 75th anniversary year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
