Oak Bay Dreams Big
On Tuesday, February 23rd, just as the Germany-Canada hockey game wrapped up a win for Team Canada, an eager crowd packed every available seat in the Oak Bay High School cafeteria to begin a forum on the new Oak Bay High School project. An impressive line up of panelists took the next two hours to inform, engage, and listen to the community members who attended.
The panelists included: Nils Jensen, Oak Bay Councillor; Michael McEvoy, School District Trustee; Lorna Curtis, Director of Oak Bay Recreation; Dave Thomson, Oak Bay High Principal; Garrett Brisdon Vice-Principal; Jody Watson, CRD; Ian Graeme, Bowker Creek Initiative; Rod Windjack, Project Architect; Jim Soles, School District Building Project Manager; and Sally Murphy, Oak Bay High School Choir Teacher.
We had a special presentation by Architect John Graham, an Oak Bay High School Alumnus. He presented a perspective on the site plan that really opened up our minds to the exciting opportunities in front of us, while making us aware that we could easily miss those opportunities, if but for the lack of funding.
But the beautiful thing is that it appears that this project is in the right place and the right time. A new Ministry of Education initiative called the Neighbourhoods of Learning is underway, and can provide additional funding of up to 15% of the total project cost for community services. In our case, with an estimate of $52 million, we could ask for up to $8 million to build our community performing arts theatre, child care spaces, a teen centre, a community kitchen, community access to the school in the off-hours, and much more!
All that’s required for the Neighbourhood Learning Centre model to be applied to the new Oak Bay High School is community participation, input, and desire for these facilities to exist within and alongside our new school building.
So, Oak Bay? Are you in?
The Community Association of Oak Bay hosted the meeting last Tuesday to fulfill our general mandate of Communicate, Collaborate, Connect, and I think we accomplished that, but we’ve still got plenty of work ahead.
We are meeting with Councillors Jensen and Cassidy to figure out how to get started on our Neighbourhood Learning Centre vision, so that it can be submitted with the plans for the new school. We will certainly keep you up to date on any developments on this project here on the caob.ca.
If you would like to participate in the Community’s bid for a Neighbourhood Learning Centre, then please contact us at oakbayconnector@gmail.com or through the comments on this post.
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Themocracy
As an (already) 2nd generation Alumni of Oak Bay High (Grad ’86), whose own child is just about to enter Oak Bay High for a 3rd generation (Grad ’14), I have both strong ties to the school, and to the community. I would like to be an active participant in guiding the process, and would like to be kept informed of future forum events. The list of facilities currently proposed for the new school sounds impressive, and I too, have a few suggestions for other facilities and imperatives. However, I have a GRAVE CONCERN for the AESTHETIC of the new school. I note from the visuals that there are perhaps 2 “round” centres planned. I realize that this could just be the architect’s “x marks the spot” ie. – that “a building could be placed here”, but I would register the STRONGEST POSSIBLE OBJECTION TO ANY BUILDING OF A CONTEMPORARY SHAPE OR FORM! This is a prominent architectural feature replacing a heritage building, in a heritage area. Large swathes of glass, steel, exposed structural beams, and avante-garde shapes are strictly out-of-the-question. This school needs to provide new features, and safer more modern facilities, but it needs to keep sight of, and give a nod to, it’s original form and character. Contemporary Architecture is simply not appropriate!!!!
[...] Just as today’s front page Oak Bay News article highlights, the Oak Bay High School Redevelopment Project needs community participation! As we’ve said before, this opportunity won’t come again, nor do we want to miss it! [...]