By Colleen Flanagan, The Maple Ridge News
Lisa Beare remembered starting kindergarten and finishing Grade 7 in the former Ecole Eric Langton Elementary School building.
And, the Minister of Education and Child Care, and MLA for Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows, was back at the school again Tuesday, this time to open the doors to the brand new facility and to welcome the next generation of students – including her daughter who just started Grade 6.
The opening ceremony for the new school took place following the first day of class on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Also on hand were SD42 superintendent Teresa Downs, current school board chair Elaine Yamamoto, school principal Kyla Cameron, Katzie First Nation elder Ed Pierre, and Katzie artist Rain Pierre.
Ed Pierre was the first to speak, saying it was an exciting time because the Katzie are so involved with their children’s education.
“We are walking side-by-side when it comes to talks, making sure that our children are looked after,” he said of ongoing communication with the provincial and federal governments.
Rain Pierre, who designed the new school logo and many architectural features, said he came up with the image of the osprey for the logo after consulting his father.
The osprey, he said, is a protector of the river and known as the river hawk.
Swirls of water representing the Pitt River surround the image of the osprey on the school’s new logo.