34 days and counting: East Prairie ready to open Hillview Elementary School

Hillview Elementary School in East Prairie is almost ready to open for students Sept. 2. Above, members of the East Prairie school board and the newly-hired principal stand before the school. Left-right are Vic Prinz, Karen Cunningham, principal Lorna McKay and Violet Haggerty. Missing are Muriel L’Hirondelle and Shelly Auger.

Chris Clegg
South Peace News

Excitement is building as East Prairie Metis Settlement prepares to open the first school on the settlement in about 40 years. Work is just about completed on the $6.7 million Hillview Elementary School, which will house the expected school population of 66 students, including kindergarten, and staff. The school, named because of the beautiful scenic view to the south and southeast, will open for staff Aug. 27 with students attending school for first day of classes Sept. 2. East Prairie School Board chair Violet Haggerty says the school should provide a chance for students to learn in a better environment, simply because the children will not be so tired. Some have to board a school bus for High Prairie before 7 a.m. and arrive home near 5 p.m. “Then they judge the children on how well they do,” says Haggerty. “But they don’t consider getting up early and how tired they are.” Karen Cunningham was elected to the Northland School Division school board in the fall of 2000. She agrees the biggest reason parents lobbied for the school was because children were spending too long on the bus going to High Prairie. It not only affected the children’s education but families. “Family time is important,” says Cunningham. “How can you have it when the kids are home at 5 p.m., have supper and do homework. There is no time.” About the only drawback to the new school is there was no money to build a playground. The local school board is trying to raise about $150,000 to build one. One fundraiser is a golf tournament in McLennan Aug. 9. Call Joan or Tricia during the day at 523-2594 for more information. “With all those dollars to go into a building and no playground,” says a disappointed Haggerty. Lorna McKay was recently hired as the school’s first principal. The 10-year veteran comes to East Prairie from Calling Lake, where she spent six of her eight years with Northland School Division. “I’m excited but very nervous,” she says. McKay will oversee a staff which includes a kindergarten teacher, a Grades 1-2 teacher, Grades 3-4 teacher and Grades 5-6 teacher. A part-time librarian and secretary will also be hired. Everyone has been hired with the exception of one teacher but interviews were being completed July 23 to fill the position. “I would expect any school to have dedicated staff, loving and supportive of the school and the kids,” says McKay. She adds all staff must be able to relate to the parents, who play a vital role in each child’s education. Support for the school on the settlement is widespread but not 100 per cent, says Cunningham. “There are mixed feelings. Some people are apprehensive. They say you have to prove yourself. Some parents still want to take their children to High Prairie.” However, the board and staff are up to the challenge of proving they can provide high quality education. One advantage is more one-on-one time with each student. “In a small class setting, there is more time for one-on-one,” says Cunningham. “It’s a bonus for us but we still have to prove ourselves. “I’m confident once we prove ourselves, we’ll have the full backing of the community.” She also believes in Northland School Division and its education programs. “I believe in Northland. I wouldn’t sit on the board if I didn’t believe in Northland.” The long road to seeing the school built began earnestly in 2000 with sporadic lobby efforts as long ago as the 1970s. When East Prairie residents were first elected to Northland School Division in 2000, efforts began to have the school build. “It would not have been a reality if not for the support of East Prairie Metis Settlement council, the Metis Settlements General Council and (Lesser Slave Lake) MLA Pearl Calahasen,” says Cunningham. “They supported and lobbied and wrote letters and letters.” East Prairie Metis Settlement council chair Louis Haggerty remembers two schools on the settlement. He says about 1947-48 there was an elementary school at the old townsite where the supervisor of the settlement also served as the teacher. The junior and senior high school was near where the old church now stands. “I went to school in 1965,” he says. “It was about 1967-68 when it closed. They started busing the kids out once there was a road.”

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