Vic High hosted its official reopening after an almost four-year $100-million renovation on Wednesday, and at least one neighbouring business was in a mood to celebrate.
Fernwood Pizza Company manager Miroslaw Gwiazda said the return of students to the Grant Street campus from their temporary home at S.J. Willis has already had an impact.
“Just these past few days we’ve been seeing the kids come in and it’s been solid slice purchases from 11:30 until 12:30 when their lunch period ends,” said Gwiazda, adding there’s another bump in demand when school ends for the day.
He said the company supplied 125 pizzas to Vic High for orientation day on Friday — the equivalent of 1,000 slices.
Students, who were back in classes in the renovated building on Monday, say they are impressed with the bigger, modernized structure.
Grade 10 student Ethan Scudamore, who was sitting on outside stairs framed by the school’s historic facade, said the refurbished and expanded Victoria High School is “definitely an upgrade” from students’ temporary quarters at the former S.J. Willis Education Centre.
“We have a lot more space and a lot more classrooms,” said Ethan, who was particularly impressed with the doors to the new library, which have a hand-carved Indigenous design. “They’re beautiful.”
Kole Ketlur, also in Grade 10, said the revamped school is “a massive improvement” from its 1914-vintage predecessor.
“It definitely looks better and I feel like there’s more learning opportunities here,” said Kole, who also likes the Indigenous features and the fact that historical elements such as the names of students killed in the two world wars were preserved.
Other historic touches that remain include stained glass and interior wooden panels, and the attic, where the walls have been signed by students going back at least to the 1950s.
About 860 students have moved in at the Fernwood site, which has gone from a capacity of 800 to 1,000.
While there is still some construction fencing around areas where landscaping is ongoing, school activity is in full swing.
The project to revamp and seismically upgrade the venerable building began in 2020.
The province provided $97 million for the project and the Greater Victoria School District contributed $3 million, with the cost rising from $79.7 million in recent years as the building period was extended due to such factors as the COVID-19 pandemic and labour shortages.
The complexity of working with an older building also added to the cost.
Opening day was initially set for September 2022 and then September 2023 before construction extended into this year.
Principal Aaron Parker, who has led Vic High for eight years and seen its renewal from the beginning, said it has been inspiring to see the reaction of the school community to what has been done.
“Kids are shocked at how beautiful the building is, how much capacity it has,” he said. “The students almost to a person walk in and have a look on their faces just of awe.”
Vic High Alumni Association member Linda Baker, who graduated from the school in 1969, has enjoyed seeing students come by as she and others work on putting the school archives together.
Many of them are eager to come in and take a look around, she said.
“I was an interior designer for 20 years, so coming into this building I was excited to see how the old and the new have been brought together.”
Greater Victoria School Board chair Nicole Duncan said the aim has been to recognize Vic High’s “long, rich heritage” while creating “a revitalized space that supports a modern learning environment.”
Education Minister Rachna Singh said the project includes a neighbourhood learning centre that will feature a child-care area by 2025 and space for community events.
Transportation Minister Rob Fleming, who has two children attending Vic High, noted that the school dates back to a two-classroom log building that opened in 1876 with 34 students on the grounds of what is now Central Middle School.
Vic High will turn 150 in 2026, making it the oldest high school in Canada west of Winnipeg.
Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto lauded the completed project, noting her son graduated from Vic High and had a “life-changing” experience there. The staff was instrumental in helping him through some challenges and to “find himself,” she said.
Alto said the reopening of the school is good for the entire community.
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