Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

Page 29 text:

JUNIOR SCHOOL STAFF Under the direciioii of coiuniander Silkie! Left to Right: Front Mrs. M. Pettit, Dip. Mus. Ed., R.S.A.M, Mr. G. Sutherland (First Assistant) Mrs. J. Zuill Miss E. Wilkie (Head of Department) Mrs. K. Walker Miss M.R. Armstrong Mrs. K. Latter Mrs. L. Williams Rear: Mr. M. Beasley Mr. P. Lever Mr. S. Adams, B.A. (Edinburgh) L.R.S.M. 27

Page 28 text:

i I CHRISTMAS SALE The Class Mothers organised a sale of Christmas gifts and decorations as a fund raising activity. The total amount raised was $1509.63 which has been used to purchase a stereo cassette tape recorder, further supplies of film strips and a new inter-com system. The Class Mothers and others who helped with the sale. The Trampoline was popular with younger children The ' Salt us Seal ' , made and donated by Mrs. M. Parsons, was a while their parents patronised the stalls. popular raffle. This small visitor was hoping to win it! 26

Page 30 text:

AT LAST The Liberal Arts Wing of the Junior School Birth of a Dream Ten years ago, when Cavendish married into the Saltus family, the fact that every one of the influx of persons into the Saltus complex had found a place evoked more sounds of gratitude than cries of difficulty and deprivation. For some time, during the honeymoon, no-one felt in a position to mention the inadequacies of cramped conditions, and, in the tradition of all good Private Schools, work continued, undiminished and undeterred by the physical environment. Ambition was high, impressive goals were set, the curriculum became more sophisticated. While we still housed girls, the belief was fostered that, obviously, when they had grown out of our system, we would have more space. However, when the last two left in July 1978, the stark facts were revealed. We had a school of boys, with an ever increasing roll, a rapidly developing programme of activities, and no- where to carry them out. Music confliced with P.E. in the Hall. The P.E. had to move outside. 60 children at a time tried to change and shower in the changing room built for 24: — ( You ' ve got my sock! That ' s my vest. Take your foot out of my pants. ) At lunch time on rainy days, the increasing number of visiting music teachers was faced, for their lessons, either with a corner each of the Hall, or a choice of: — the Head Teacher ' s room, where the ' phone rang constantly in the wrong key; the Science Room, where pungent smells of recent experiments choked the atmosphere, and the players; the Art Room, where 90 children scurried continuously in and out of their classrooms beyond; or the cloakrooms, to the accompaniment of dripping taps and flushing toilets. Full marks to the one who found sanctuary in the P.E. cupboard! Art fared no better. In what was once the entrance hall for that wing, 30 boys per class, sweltered under the low ceiling, being stampeded by herds of changing classes whenever the period bell sounded, or, seeking ventilation, spent their lesson chasing after their paper masterpieces, which floated around the room on the welcome breeze, every time their owners left them to mix more paint. The honeymoon now being long since over, bitterness and frustration were sounded, and eventually reached the ears of Those in Command. Came the day when plans were invited for an addition to the Junior School, an extension to be called the Liberal Arts Wing. Eagerly sites were proposed, drawings submitted: — east of the gym, west above the .lunior rooms, north into the janitor ' s garden. Who cared, so long as we had a building?! Finally a decision was made. The starting date was set. Hopes ran high. Two boys, Reid Young and Kirk Marco held a private fair raising $100, the start of the Junior School Building l und, which was thereafter cnlhusiastically added lo by many sales and money-raising projects. THEN... the Senior School Hall was wrecked by fire. With a mixture of sympathy and frustration the Junior Department shrank down in whipped dejection and watched with envious resignation, the reconstruction of the Senior Hall, followed by the building of the Senior Gym. Years have passed. Staff have changed; others have aged! The curriculum has developed. Our little fimd has grown to over S6,000, bui alucs have diminished, and elsewhere iiioncN has become tight. Nobody believed the new Headmaster ' s third prediction, We ' ll be starting on your new building in November. Then, suddenly, 8.00 a.m. November 18th, 1981, over the brow of the driveway, the heavy thrum of the first payloader, the thrilling sounds of crunch and crash as, like a mechancial Shiva, it destroyed the cycle shed, the tool hut, and the water pipes! to make way for the new creation. Passing the old sheds Walls going. . . gone. For six months we have assumed an unnatural normalcy round the rubble and mess, through the din and dust, over the hammers and drills — determined to play our part during the growth of our dream child. By the time you all read this, the New Wing will be a well integrated, fully operational part of our unit. These thoughts and pictures are printed... lest we forget... The roof goes Before alteration