CAOB Connects the Oak Bay High Rebuild Project to Willows PAC
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!
In the next phase of CAOB’s efforts to involve the community in this exciting once-in-100-years-project, we brought the Oak Bay High School Project to the Willows PAC meeting tonight. We were very happy to see 40 parents come out to learn about the project.
We invited Oak Bay Parks and Recreation Director Lorna Curtis, School District 61 Trustee Michael McEvoy, Oak Bay High Principal Dave Thomson and VP Garrett Brisdon to the meeting to share progress updates on the project with the parents of future Oak Bay High School students.
The excitement is certainly continuing to build and spread throughout the community, as we see both the political will and action on the part of our elected representatives, and the staff of both the Oak Bay Municipality and the School District, working collaboratively to get the ball rolling on a Neighbourhoods of Learning Grant Application.
The concept of a Community School was raised early in the consultation phase of the project, and this has transformed somewhat with the Ministry of Education promoting and funding Neighbourhood Learning Centres.
The Municipality is applying to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) for $30,000 to fund hiring a Community Planner that will consult with the community and build the grant application for the Neighbourhood Learning Centre to be included in the final plans of the new school. We will know by June 30, 2010, if they were successful in getting the $30,000 to get a professional consultant to write the grant application.
The plan is that this consultant will plan and host several meetings in September to hear from the Community. I hope you will find time in that generally ridiculously busy month to attend the meetings, write emails/letters to the Oak Bay Council, and share your priorities for the Neighbourhoods of Learning funds.
In the meantime, please stay informed on the project, by visiting us here at caob.ca, and the Oak Bay High School Redevelopment blog as well.
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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 feel that I have strong ties to the school, and should therefore, help to guide the process. I hope more Alumni and prospective parents will also make a point of getting involved! The list of facilities currently proposed for the new school sounds impressive, and I 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!!!!
Sorry Tami, the drawing I’ve included here is just a concept diagram that was used at our Community Forum to explain the idea of including community services, and a theatre in the new school. By no means does this drawing depict the actual school, nor does it even show where the new school will sit on the site. It wasn’t drawn by the architect working on the project, but another architect that joined us to help us grasp the possibilities that this opportunity has offered up.
It was merely a visual used to explain the process that we’re about to go through. Thanks for your input, and I hope you’ll continue to participate in the process.
Thanks for the very informative meeting last night. This sounds like a great opportunity for the neighbourhood. I couldn’t attend the previous public meetings about rebuilding of Oak Bay High. I also want a building exterior that fits into the heritage look of Oak Bay. The interior can be whatever they need to make a school work, but the exterior sets the tone for the neighbourhood. We are too cavilier about our heritage homes and they are starting to drop like flies. We may soon lose what makes Oak Bay special. I live here because I like older buildings. I am dropping off my membership for the CAOB today.