Valleyview Secondary on the Move

Valleyview Secondary opens east wing expansion - CFJC Today

School addition opens early - Castanet

Expanded space at Valleyview Secondary has students, staff feeling connected - KTW

Students and staff move into new east wing at Valleyview Secondary School - Radio NL

Students get access to new wing of Valleyview Secondary School - Daybreak Kamloops (CBC)

Valleyview students and staff will move into the new east wing when they return to class on April 4.

While the secondary school’s students and teaching staff are away on a two-spring break, District maintenance staff will be using the time to move fixtures and materials into the completed classrooms of the new space.

Principal Barb Hamblett is all for the move, despite the fact that the interiors of some specialty spaces are not fully complete.

Making the most of the $35 million addition is not as simple as having teachers trade their space in a portable classroom for space in the east wing. With the addition of 20 new classrooms, school administration has the opportunity to improve the school’s functionality and to create school zones for humanities, science, and fine art. Hamblett admits that orchestrating the move is a logistical challenge, but she is confident that taking the time to move the subject areas now reduces disruption from a second move later on.

Approximately 80 staff and 960 students make up Valleyview Secondary, a space designed for 675. The new addition is on track to open by September 2022 and adds 525 seats, bringing the school’s capacity to 1,200 students and eliminating the need for the twelve portables currently in use.

In the decades since the last major capital project, the design for school learning spaces has changed. The east wing at Valleyview Secondary boasts expansive windows, common areas for students to gather casually between classes, natural wood accents, and inclusive washrooms.

The pandemic and its accompanying supply chain issues have thrown a few obstacles in the path to moving in just as the project is in its final stretch. “Once the portables are out of the way, we can finish all the improvements to the grounds,” said Art McDonald, SD73 Director of Facilities, confirming the project is on time and on budget.

During the lunch hour on March 17, Art McDonald took the staff on a brief tour of the east wing, giving them a chance to see the spaces and places they will be occupying on April 4.

The tour started with an acknowledgement of land on which Valleyview Secondary is situated.

“You can't help feeling a depth of gratitude to the Secwepemc people as all of us stood in the concourse flooded with the natural light,” Principal Barb Hamblett noted.

As the staff toured, many commented on how beautiful the new space is and noted that, "It was wonderful to breathe in the smell of everything new."

It was also a chance for the school to treat the Dawson and Wallace Construction crew to a Subway lunch to show their appreciation for the extra work they have put in to get staff and students into the east wing prior to the project completion date of September 2022.

Hamblett, who has been at Valleyview Secondary since 2017, said, “For me as a principal, the east wing became real when I heard the bells ring in there for the first time on our tour. I could easily see the hallways filled with kids and staff in my mind.”

On March 14, at the Regular Meeting of the Board of Education, Vice-Chair Meghan Wade described seeing the nearly completed project as one of the most powerful things that has ever happened during her four terms as trustee.

“March 8th was a big day. Just to walk through those doors was the culmination of a five-year journey. There really are no adequate words to properly reflect the impact of walking through those main doors.

“Prior to the tour, each individual was smudged and as we reviewed and walked through each room, those spaces were also smudged. It is not completed yet, but we are getting there. This is going to be a spectacular place for gathering and for learning. And it has been an intense five-year journey.

“I am here to tell you that it is gorgeous. It is well lit. It has windows. It [fulfills] every expectation that this board and the previous board that began advocating for this addition had for this space. Every single one of your expectations and more.”

With Valleyview Secondary School construction nearing its completion, the anticipation of a giant mural to commemorate the school’s 50^th anniversary is building.

After receiving an ArtStarts Grant in 2019, an intensive 4-month creative journey began involving the school’s senior Visual Arts class, Art teacher Melody Tompkins, and Chris Bose, the project’s local Indigenous Artist in Residence.

The concept for the mural was co-developed by the students with past, present, and future as the over-arching theme for the art installation destined for Valleyview’s East Wing upon completion of the multi-million-dollar construction project, as well as a celebration of the school’s 50^th year. The idea was to blend the current “Viking” identity and situate the students’ understanding in relation to Secwépemculecw.

Incorporating Indigenous elements “was really important because it gives a sense of pride and recognition and a sense of honour,” said Bose. Methods used to combine the various elements included water-based spray and brush techniques.

Some of the student artists involved in the project had no previous visual arts experience prior to taking the class, which translated into a great example of deeper learning from the definition outlined by Dr. Jal Mehta, a researcher out of Harvard. Mehta suggests that deeper learning occurs when three phenomena coincide: mastery, creativity, and identity.

Creating conditions for an authentic learning experience for each student, regardless of their previous arts experience, was a vital component and key to the success of the collaboration.

The scope of the project was massive in terms of the time commitment but also in footprint: the entire mural measures 16 feet by 12 feet and is comprised of six sheets of plywood.

See the mural photo gallery here.

Watch the making of the mural here: