Danielle Placek’s ponytail and pink sweatshirt were to give her a decidely ’90s look when she attended the Glenwood Elementary 100th anniversary party on Nov. 9.
Her two sons now attend the school she went to back when the hair was big and the sweatshirt was the hoodie of its time.
“Glenwood’s always had a special place in my heart,” she said.
That’s why the family chose to send the boys, in Grades 1 and 5, to Glenwood.
“I love the rural setting,” Placek said.
She also likes the smaller class sizes.
“There’s still two teachers here from when I was here in the 1990s,” she noted.
She went to the old Glenwood, beside the current school at 208th Street and 24th Avenu.
“I went to the old school for four years,” she said. “I remember having to do into the spooky basement to go to the washroom.”
Now the old school is the district media centre and storage. The school parent advisory council also uses the space.
To mark Glenwood’s 100th anniversary, the school invited in the community and held an assembly and afternoon celebration. Photos, memorabilia and vintage artifacts were displayed.
According to the Langley Retired Teachers’ Association website, the earliest Glenwood school was built in 1891 on the southwest corner of 16th Avenue and 216th Street.
In 1916, a one-room school with a basement was built on the corner of 16th Avenue and 208th Street.
The school started with nine students. It was destroyed by fire in 1920 and rebuilt. After 25 years, it was sold and converted into a house.
The next building was two rooms at the corner of 16th Avenue and 208th Street on a site
donated by Noel Booth.
Rapid population expansion meant the school soon became six rooms with 200 students enrolled by 1957.
Classes were added in the basement but the cold and drafty conditions meant much sickness for students and staff.
Increased numbers meant that Grades 5 and 6 had to be moved to Langley Central school in the 1950s.
A two room addition in 1956/57 allowed the classes to return to Glenwood.
More additions came along – an activity room in 1962/63, two classrooms and a library in 1969, two more classes and more washrooms in 1971, and a gym in 1974, according to the website.