ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — One of the reasons Rhona Buchan and her 10-year-old twin sons, Sam and Ian Organ, love Bishop Feild Elementary in St. John’s is the sense of community the school fosters.
And one of the ways they build that community is by assigning kids to different “houses,” as they do in the book and movie series, “Harry Potter.”
In October 2017, principal Laurie Andrews stood in the auditorium in front of the entire school, wearing her robe and waving a wand, conducting the sorting ceremony. Kindergartners and new kids to the school were rubbing the Feildian Cup — a trophy — to see which house they would be sorted into.
“Believe it or not … that was the moment the (gymnasium) ceiling fell in,” Buchan said.
Luckily, no one was in the gym and no one was hurt. But the collapse displaced the entire school for three years, as students, teachers and staff moved from Bond Street to the former School for the Deaf on Topsail Road.
“My children have incredibly positive associations with Bishop Field and with that building, and they were just delighted to go back.” — Rhona Buchan
For Buchan and her sons, the change was massive.
“They were five or six weeks into Grade 2, everything shut down, we were out of school for a week, then we had that major shift over to Topsail Road and they had to start riding buses and all sorts of things,” Buchan said. “And it’s been a stressful time not knowing quite when we were getting back to school.”
The reopening date kept getting pushed back, as repairs took longer than expected.
But now the kids are back to "their" school, and Buchan and her children couldn’t be more excited.
“I am delighted to get the structure back in life (and) I’m really happy,” she said. “My children have incredibly positive associations with Bishop Field and with that building, and they were just delighted to go back.”
The original building on the site was constructed 176 years ago. It was replaced by the current building that opened in 1928. Buchan, who is on the school council, said that given the layout of the school, parents have every reason to feel confident their children are safe regarding COVID-19.
“We’ve got large classrooms, high ceilings, large windows that open, wide corridors, a layout that facilitates one-way flow (and) really easily, wide staircases,” Buchan said. “I think we are really well-placed to deal with COVID-19.”
Andrews has been the principal for eight years and said it felt wonderful to welcome the children back to the building on Wednesday.
She had made a promise to stay with the school, the parents and kids until they got their school and community back, she said.
And Wednesday, she made good on that promise.
“It was so nice to go out on the front steps … and say, ‘Welcome home,’” she said. “It was really rewarding.”
Shortly after 2:45 p.m., the end-of-school bell rang. At the front entrance, pupils in kindergarten to Grade 3 were greeted by their parents or guardians.
“It was so nice to go out on the front steps and say, ‘Welcome home.' “It was really rewarding.” — Bishop Feild principal Laurie Andrews
Some parents discussed their newfound ability to be able to think for a period of time without interruption, while one child, walking toward Moo Moo’s Ice Cream, excitedly said, “When we get home, just look in my bookbag.”
“I can’t wait,” her mother said.
The Grade 4 to Grade 6 students began coming out of the side entrance, class by class, greeting their parents and waving goodbye to their friends.
“See you tomorrow,” one boy yelled as the trees surrounding the building provided shade from the afternoon sun.
Then, it was the turn of Rhona Buchan's sons to leave the building and meet with their mother. Ian said the day was great, and Sam said it was exciting to see their friends again.
One of those friends is Charlie Rose Hodder Neis. The 11-year-old, Grade 6 student said the first day was amazing.
“We went outside almost all day, which was really fun,” she said.
But not everything was perfect.
“It was really hard looking at (my friends) on the play structure while I had to be a long way away, just like, ‘I need to see you,’” she said.
Still, the excitement in her voice was clear, as Charlie, Ian and Sam made plans to hit the nearby park.
This is an updated version.
