Saying Goodbye to Ashley Park School

Yesterday, Ashley Park School held their School Legacy Celebration in honour of closing the school permanently and transitioning into Irwin School in the fall.

Members from the Chinook School Division, City Council, school staff, students and their families took part in an afternoon ceremony and carnival to celebrate 68 years of service to the community.

Mayor Jerrod Schafer was also in attendance, and he said he was happy to be back at the school he attended as a child.

"I've got lots of good memories of growing up and attending Ashley Park School, and both of my kids have been through this school, so it certainly tugs at the heart strings that it's closing its doors, but as everybody eluded to, Ashley Park was all about the students and staff that worked here, and everybody including the kids who have done a great job today will have those memories too," he said. "I often say that my two best school experiences were the University of Saskatchewan and Ashley Park School, they're the ones that stick with me the most. I'll always remember Mrs. Bennell was my grade three teacher and she read the class a book called 'Danny the Champion of the World,' and it's a book that I've shared with my kids. Even little things like going home to watch the Flintstones on your lunch break, those are all good memories and I loved my time at Ashley Park."

Several alumni at the event expressed that among the many things that will be missed about Ashley Park School will be the tight-knit sense of community that brought it all together, recalling the many events that took place on the grounds.

"Everytime we had any kind of event at Ashley Park, there was just an outpouring of support," said former principal and teacher at Ashley Park, Kathy Robson. "There were lots of parents that always came in, and everybody just rallied around it. I think the fact that Ashley Park was situated right in a neighbourhood, you always had that community feel. A lot of people walked here and any of the events that we had were just so supported, and also the community within Ashley Park with the teachers, students, and staff that helped make that community."

Robson worked at Ashley Park for ten years, and says she looks forward to supporting the future students of Irwin School through her role as a curriculum coordinator.

"In my position now, I will be able to support these students as they move to Irwin, so I look forward to seeing how great that's going to be. I know that the culture at Irwin is a real positive culture as well, and I think the staff has done such a great job of transitioning the students to Irwin. I think it's just going to get better, and they're going to continue to take what they have here and just build it at Irwin."

Many teachers and staff will also be making the transition to Irwin School, and current principal at Ashley Park School, Angela Schindel believes the staff has done a wonderful job with the big move.

"I have to give a huge shout out to Irwin School and their team, because they have made the transition so smooth for our kids. We've really worked together with our two staffs to provide as many opportunities as we could to bring the kids and the families into the building, so our students have been over numerous times for tours, concerts, special presentations, and then a lot of the Irwin students came to help today just to kind of develop a connection and a relationship. The kids are feeling really excited now. They've got to see their classrooms and it helps because all of their teachers are going with them, so there's a comfort level there."

Irwin School will become a kindergarten to grade eight institution once school starts back up. As for the lot in which Ashley Park School currently sits, the municipality will likely be consulted as to what they would like to do with it, though no plans or a time frame have been determined yet.