North Otter Elementary School
The Early Years of our Community
by Art Hoock
The first school serving the North Otter area was the one-room Beaver School,
built in the early 1890’s by James Skea at the northwest corner of 56th Avenue
and 256th Street.
In September,1918, the first County Line School opened, located approximately
26030 – 56th Avenue. It was a two-room school, complete with a central wood
furnace in the lower level. After it burned down in 1931, a three-room school with
a lower play level replaced it. It had no electricity or indoor plumbing, and each
room had a wood-fired heater. In 1940 a fourth classroom for grades one and two
was added on the lower west end, taught by Hazel (Harding) Harrower. Hilda Jude
taught there from 1935 until 1945.
A modern County Line school was built at the northwest corner of 264th Street
and 62nd Avenue, with classes starting in February, 1948. Students from the North
Otter area were taken to and from this school in a boxy orange International school
bus with wooden seats, affectionately dubbed the "Cheese Box."
When school began in September, 1948, it soon became apparent that the new
County Line school could not hold all the students. Around November, North
Otter area grades four to six students, taught by Mrs. Anne Hoock, and the grade
seven class taught by Miss Neufeld, moved back to the old school which was
renamed Roberts Road school. It had been wired with electric lights but still had
outdoor washrooms.
Workers, meanwhile, prepared foundations, at 5370 – 248th Street for the three
classrooms that were to be moved at the end of the school year. In addition, a new
full-length flat roof section was constructed to later mate with the three old
classrooms. This included a hallway, staffroom, washrooms, a furnace room, and a
covered play area at each end.
This new school was named North Otter Elementary and opened in September,
1949. The centre room was used as an activity room the first year, with grades one
to three taught by Anne Hoock in the south room, and grades four to six taught by
Principal P.L. Murray in the north room. In the second year all three rooms were
used for classrooms. Students living between Robertson Crescent and the end of
the road north of 56th Avenue were bussed to the North Otter School. The school
grounds provided ample room for a variety of activities with a large field east of
the school and a bush area with rolling humps and dips on the south side.
About 12:15 a.m. on Friday, December 13, 1963, local resident, Willie Gerber,
was on his way home when he noticed smoke coming from North Otter School
and roused the proprietors of Warkentin’s store, who turned in the alarm. By the
time the Aldergrove and Central Langley fire department arrived, each being about
five miles away, the three classrooms and hallway were fully engulfed in flames.
The portable classroom was saved, but was useless without the main building’s
facilities.
By Monday morning four classrooms on the upper east end of Langley High
School had been roped off, and the North Otter students were bussed there until
their new school could be built."
At the present time our community is a varied one, reflecting a full range of
socioeconomic backgrounds. Statistics Canada (1991) notes our average family
income as being close to the B.C. average and our transient rate (an indicator of
stability) is slightly higher than the district average. Most of our population is
either semi-rural (one to five acre parcels) or suburban in nature with a strong
family orientation.
As part of our continuing efforts to develop good citizenship in our students, our
school has implemented a positive behaviour model called STAR. This acronym
stands for SAFETY, TEAMWORK, ACADEMICS, RESPECT. We frequently
review the meaning of S.T.A.R. with our students and reward students who
recognize that a positive and safe school requires that all students take an active
role in contributing to our school. Our parents have made it quite clear that they
are happy with the S.T.A.R. program and the"Where Kids Reach for the STARs"
emphasis at North Otter. They are a highly supportive and involved community,
and this involvement is recognized as one of the factors that contributes to North
Otter being a strong and effective school. Our last Ministry of Education Parent
Satisfaction Survey (May 2003) gave North Otter a very high approval rating in
the category of School Environment and Parental Involvement. In this survey,
69% of our parents either agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with
the school (the district average was 66% and the provincial average was 62%).
North Otter's population has slowly declined over the last 10 years from a
population of over 400 at one time to an enrolment of 264 as of September 2010.
North Otter has experienced this drop in enrolment due to the fact that there have
not been many new families moving into the area recently.
Academically, our students fare well. Many of our students are accepted into the
Honours 8/9 Math program at D.W. Poppy Secondary. We are proud of the
number of our students who obtain honour role status and scholarships at D.W.
Poppy.
Our Fine Arts program supports and inspires students. Our intermediate music
program incorporates recorder, ukulele and band (offered to studen
North
Otter Elementary School
The Early Years of our Community
by Art Hoock
The first school serving the North Otter area was the one-room Beaver School,
built in the early 1890’s by James Skea at the northwest corner of 56th Avenue
and 256th Street.
In September,1918, the first County Line School opened, located approximately
26030 – 56th Avenue. It was a two-room school, complete with a central wood
furnace in the lower level. After it burned down in 1931, a three-room school with
a lower play level replaced it. It had no electricity or indoor plumbing, and each
room had a wood-fired heater. In 1940 a fourth classroom for grades one and two
was added on the lower west end, taught by Hazel (Harding) Harrower. Hilda Jude
taught there from 1935 until 1945.
A modern County Line school was built at the northwest corner of 264th Street
and 62nd Avenue, with classes starting in February, 1948. Students from the North
Otter area were taken to and from this school in a boxy orange International school
bus with wooden seats, affectionately dubbed the "Cheese Box."
When school began in September, 1948, it soon became apparent that the new
County Line school could not hold all the students. Around November, North
Otter area grades four to six students, taught by Mrs. Anne Hoock, and the grade
seven class taught by Miss Neufeld, moved back to the old school which was
renamed Roberts Road school. It had been wired with electric lights but still had
outdoor washrooms.
Workers, meanwhile, prepared foundations, at 5370 – 248th Street for the three
classrooms that were to be moved at the end of the school year. In addition, a new
full-length flat roof section was constructed to later mate with the three old
classrooms. This included a hallway, staffroom, washrooms, a furnace room, and a
covered play area at each end.
This new school was named North Otter Elementary and opened in September,
1949. The centre room was used as an activity room the first year, with grades one
to three taught by Anne Hoock in the south room, and grades four to six taught by
Principal P.L. Murray in the north room. In the second year all three rooms were
used for classrooms. Students living between Robertson Crescent and the end of
the road north of 56th Avenue were bussed to the North Otter School. The school
grounds provided ample room for a variety of activities with a large field east of
the school and a bush area with rolling humps and dips on the south side.
About 12:15 a.m. on Friday, December 13, 1963, local resident, Willie Gerber,
was on his way home when he noticed smoke coming from North Otter School
and roused the proprietors of Warkentin’s store, who turned in the alarm. By the
time the Aldergrove and Central Langley fire department arrived, each being about
five miles away, the three classrooms and hallway were fully engulfed in flames.
The portable classroom was saved, but was useless without the main building’s
facilities.
By Monday morning four classrooms on the upper east end of Langley High
School had been roped off, and the North Otter students were bussed there until
their new school could be built."
At the present time our community is a varied one, reflecting a full range of
socioeconomic backgrounds. Statistics Canada (1991) notes our average family
income as being close to the B.C. average and our transient rate (an indicator of
stability) is slightly higher than the district average. Most of our population is
either semi-rural (one to five acre parcels) or suburban in nature with a strong
family orientation.
As part of our continuing efforts to develop good citizenship in our students, our
school has implemented a positive behaviour model called STAR. This acronym
stands for SAFETY, TEAMWORK, ACADEMICS, RESPECT. We frequently
review the meaning of S.T.A.R. with our students and reward students who
recognize that a positive and safe school requires that all students take an active
role in contributing to our school. Our parents have made it quite clear that they
are happy with the S.T.A.R. program and the"Where Kids Reach for the STARs"
emphasis at North Otter. They are a highly supportive and involved community,
and this involvement is recognized as one of the factors that contributes to North
Otter being a strong and effective school. Our last Ministry of Education Parent
Satisfaction Survey (May 2003) gave North Otter a very high approval rating in
the category of School Environment and Parental Involvement. In this survey,
69% of our parents either agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with
the school (the district average was 66% and the provincial average was 62%).
North Otter's population has slowly declined over the last 10 years from a
population of over 400 at one time to an enrolment of 264 as of September 2010.
North Otter has experienced this drop in enrolment due to the fact that there have
not been many new families moving into the area recently.
Academically, our students fare well. Many of our students are accepted into the
Honours 8/9 Math program at D.W. Poppy Secondary. We are proud of the
number of our students who obtain honour role status and scholarships at D.W.
Poppy.
Our Fine Arts program supports and inspires students. Our intermediate music
program incorporates recorder, ukulele and band (offered to students in Grade 7).
Primary students receive 30 minutes of music instruction each week. Our athletic
tradition continues to be strong with boys' and girls' teams participating in various
district events and leagues in volleyball, basketball and track and field.
In summary, we treasure the family spirit we have at North Otter and will continue
to foster this culture. The majority of our students feel very good about themselves
and demonstrate great respect for others. There exists at North Otter a very open,
progressive and positive attitude towards learning about each other and the world
at large.