Local school closure gives a crowd of people a chance to say goodbye

George Whitman carefully walked in one of the empty classrooms in College Street Public School, contemplating as he looked around.

“I remember we used to have naps every afternoon. We’d bring our slippers and lie down on beach towels in here. Yeah, it’s a long time ago,” chuckles Whitman, a retired resident of Stockdale.

For Whitman and many others, Monday was a bit of a nostalgic trip back in time.

Having served the community for almost 80 years, College Street Public School in Trenton is now closing its doors. And to commemorate all that has passed, the school held a special public ceremony on Jan. 30.

“We wanted to honour the history and we wanted to give people the opportunity to view the school one more time,” says JoAnne Nitschke, the principal of College Street Public School.

A large crowd of people, both young and old, descended on the local educational institution to say farewell to their beloved home school.

Entering through the front gate, people were instantly attracted by the hundreds of photographs on the walls that have been accumulated over the course of its history. And it quickly became a bit of an entertaining game of “find yourself/someone you know in the photo.”

“I was looking at this (old class) photograph and I said to the lady standing next to me, ‘This is me in the picture,’ and she said, ‘Well, I’m the teacher (in the photo).’ So I said, ‘Mrs. Robinson?’ and she said, ‘Yeah! I’m Mrs. Robinson.’ That was so neat!” says Whitman with excitement.

Keshia Cassibo, the office administrator for the school, led the operation to dig up piles of archives in the school basement to put together a huge collection of memorabilia, including an old attendance record dating back to 1908.

“The school board knew I was into history so they let me organize it. When I went down, I was surprised by the amount of stuff that’s been sitting there,” says the self-professed history enthusiast.

As exciting as it was to reconnect with their past, many expressed their mixed feelings.

For Angela Silver, the school’s longest working teacher of 18 years, College Street Public School was like family to her.

“I’ve seen students from my first class in 1999 with their kids today. I have mixed emotions. I’m excited for the new but change is always difficult. I would’ve liked to finish my career here,” says Silver, who will be moving with the students to the new school.

The current students shared the common bittersweet feeling as well.

Samantha Clarke, a 12-year-old student, studied at the local school since she was four.

“I’m going to miss everything about this building. It’s kind of like moving out of your first house that you have connection to. It’s hard to let go,” says the 7th grader.

On Feb. 7, , College Street Public School will be combined with Breadner Elementary School and Queen Elizabeth Public School to start another chapter of their educational journey at the newly built Trent River Public School.

Although Nitschke is aware of the minor bumps along the way of transition, she is confident that students will be quick to adapt to the new facility.

“Our students will be moving with the same class and the same teacher. And they are excited to experience everything that the new building has to offer.”

However, the principal will not be moving with the students as she will be working at another school.

“This is the first school that I came as a principal, so it’s very dear to my heart. I will miss them very much. It’s a wonderful school.”