Staff and students adjusting to life back at Westmount Elementary school

“It’s like a flow of emotions because I was happy to be back but it was kind of sad to see all the changes that had to happen,” added fellow Grade 7 student Alexandria Bent.

Changes included a new skylight on the roof, which is where the fire was sparked. Ceilings, floors, lockers and other finishes at Westmount also had to be replaced or cleaned because of fire, water and smoke damage.

“The skylight collapsed and of course, being an older building, asbestos was found,” principal Roy Styles said. “I think it was in the mud but of course when the building collapsed, its now airborne and so we had to go through that whole process.”

Remediation work began earlier this year and according to school officials, it was supposed to be done by April 30. That date was able to be moved up, allowing students to return to class this week, though it’s still a work in progress as the library shelves are mostly empty for now.

“I think we have about, I want to say, give or take 12,000 books to replace in the library,” Styles said.

Styles added the contractors were able to also complete a few renovations and updates at Westmount Elementary, which is commemorating its 50th anniversary this year.

“February 19 is when they opened the doors here at Westmount and we had a plan to do that again but of course, we couldn’t because the doors were closed,” Styles said. “We’re going to bring community in here – probably sometime in May – to do a little celebration, so former students, teachers and [administrators] can come back to the building and celebrate it.”

“It’ll have a nice, new feel, which will be nice… but yeah, it’s definitely been a different year.”

Monday’s return to class was the third ‘first day back’ for Westmount staff and students this school year. They were divided by age and sent to Kay Bingham Elementary, Parkcrest Elementary and George Hilliard Elementary so they could resume learning with minimal interruption.

“It was a very good experience,” Bent, who went to George Hilliard Elementary, said. “[I was able to be with my friends.] I would have been sad if I wasn’t with them.”

“I miss some of the people there. I made some friends,” McGettigen added. “I miss how big their field was. It’s such a bigger field. I like our field though, too.”

“It was a shock, obviously, when everything happened but we worked very quickly as a team to get students back,” Styles added. “Students seem to be able to adapt to anything. For adults, change is a bit more challenging as we get used to our routines but I think we learned how resilient we really are.”

Styles added the Westmount community will always be grateful for the support it got from the Kamloops-Thompson School District as well as staff at the three other schools. He’s also grateful for the buy-in from parents and guardians, as it helped the past five months go by a lot easier than it could have been.

“If we look at the last fire at Parkcrest, that staff was decimated. They didn’t have something to go back to,” Styles said. “We knew we were going to come back to the same building and I think that kind of eased our minds a little bit.”

“We knew we just had to stick together and get through it.”

And as for the library and the 12,000 books that still need to be replaced, that work will also happen in due course.

“We do have a few books on the shelf, which is a start,” Styles said. “I can’t give a date when the book shelves will be full but I do know they’re working as hard as they can at it.”

“We look forward to having them full again.”

by Victor Kaisar

Staff and students adjusting to life back at Westmount Elementary school

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