Cloverdale Traditional School hosts 100-year celebration!
It was the celebration of the century earlier today (Tuesday, May 3) at Cloverdale Traditional School, where students, staff and dignitaries marked the 100th anniversary of the longest continuously used school site in Surrey.
The official ceremony included a welcome to the territory by Katzie First Nation Coun. David Kenworthy and Indigenous District Cultural Facilitator Lee Prevost , along with Coast Salish drummers. In attendance were Surrey Board of Education Chair Laurie Larsen and trustees Gary Tymoschuk, Garry Thind and Laurae McNally, as well as the school’s PAC President Esther Lam, DPAC representative Bobbie Taylor and many other special guests and dignitaries.
“This school has served the Surrey and the Cloverdale community for 100 years!” said Larsen. “And while the building is important, we all know that it is the staff, parents and students that truly make a school a community.
“This school is a hub in our community and has supported countless students, and I have no doubt that it will continue to do so in the years to come.”
Built in 1921, the two-storey school originally opened as Surrey High School in January 1922 to address the growing need for a dedicated space for high school students. The school was renamed Lord Tweedsmuir High School in 1940, became Cloverdale Junior High School in 1957, then was again repurposed as Cloverdale Elementary School in 1965. It became Cloverdale Traditional School in 2003, a traditional elementary school that hosts one of the district’s Choice Programs.
Coast Salish drummers perform during the Cloverdale Traditional School 100th Celebration on Tuesday morning.
As part of the 100th anniversary celebrations, students and staff are also honouring the Indigenous history of the area, with a territorial acknowledgment plaque to be installed in recognition of the shared, unceded, traditional territory of the Katzie, Semiahmoo and Kwantlen First Nations on which the school sits. CTS is also working with Kwantlen artist Brandon Gabriel to conceptualize an updated logo and a new mural at the entrance of the building to reflect the Indigenous history of the Cloverdale area.
“We want to celebrate not just the school’s history but the rich culture and Indigenous roots of the land that this school was built on,” said principal Amy Newman. “It’s important for our students, staff and school community to know the history of the territory that goes back beyond the past 100 years, before we were here.”
The week prior to the ceremony, students assembled on the school’s gravel field to form a “human 100,” with photos and videos taken with a drone to commemorate the event. Classes are also preparing time capsules, to be opened 10 years from now, as Cloverdale Traditional School looks towards the future as a staple of Surrey.
Congratulations, Cloverdale Traditional, on a century in Surrey!
