Fern Avenue School featured in the Toronto Daily Star!
Every Saturday in 1905, the Toronto Daily Star would turn over a page of their weekend edition to the pupils of a local area school. On November 18, it was Fern’s turn to present themselves to the city.
These days—when this sort of self-promotion is but a few clicks away—it serves us well to reflect on how things have changed at a school that will soon be 120 years old . . . and how much has pretty much stayed the same, here and in our community.
Below are some excerpts, or you can click here to view the entire page.
Our school is situated on the north side of Fern avenue, about halfway between Roncesvalles and Sorauren avenues. It was completed in 1894, and in 1895, in the month of January, it was opened.
When it was first opened there were eight rooms and ten teachers. In September 1900, four extra rooms were added. Ten rooms were used for one year, and from September, 1901, until the present, twelve rooms have been in use, and always well filled.
We have fifteen teachers, including the vice-principal and the principal’s assistant. Only two of these were in the school when it was first opened.
The rooms are spacious, airy, and well lighted, having seating accommodation and sufficient air space for fifty pupils in each room. The desks are so arranged that the light in all cases comes over the left shoulder. The rooms are heated with five furnaces, and no room at any time has been closed on account of the cold. Such care has been taken of our school that though its age is eleven years, it still appears a new building. . . .
After the arrival of the vice-principal, more attention was paid to sport. Both boys and girls have had an excellent record in basketball, and the boys, both senior and junior, in football have always stood first in Ward Six.
. . . The school yard is divided into five sections, in three of which there is a beautiful display of flowers. The other sections are spaces for play—one for boys, the other for girls. There are large sheds in each of these sections for shelter from sun, rain, and storms. We have basketball apparatus for both girls and boys, there being two sets for the girls. We have also several beautiful shade trees, which we highly appreciate during the hot summer days. Thanks to a systematic caretaker, our yard is kept in excellent condition.
The district is very healthy on account of its nearness to the lake, and also as High Park is so near, it being only about five or ten minutes walk from the school. There has been a very nice boulevard made by the York County Loan, which makes it more pleasant to walk to the park. This district is not very densely populated, but we expect it will be soon as there is such a number of houses going up everywhere. As there are large fields in front of the school they are used for a number of different sports. In the winter they are flooded for skating. It makes a good place for sports, as the ground is much higher than farther south. . . .
There are a number of good opportunities for nature study, as High Park is so near, and a great many wild flowers and weeds can be got out there. We have made collections amounting from thirty to forty at different times. High Park is one gorgeous display of natural beauty, hill and dale, woodland and lake, plain and ravine; also excellent driveways, with foliage and flowers on each side. There also may be found a few wild animals, such as the buffalo and deer, in the park, and also the mineral springs, which lead some people to go out on purpose to get a drink of their refreshing waters.
There are also good opportunities for sketching. We have been out twice, studying the characteristics of the trees, such as the elm, maple, birch, and several others.
Although we are so far west, there are near the school a great number of industries. The bolt works, rolling mills, and the car sheds are along the lakeshore. Then just near the school are the York County Loan offices and their buildings, including a new college which has been put up lately, and also a large restaurant. West of the school are the rubber works, on Lansdowne avenue. Just opposite us on Garden avenue is the purse factory. There are also a number of other factories in our district, such as the piano factory owned by the York County Loan Company, situated on Sorauren avenue, near Dundas street.
These days—when this sort of self-promotion is but a few clicks away—it serves us well to reflect on how things have changed at a school that will soon be 120 years old . . . and how much has pretty much stayed the same, here and in our community.
Below are some excerpts, or you can click here to view the entire page.
The Building and Teachers
Our school is situated on the north side of Fern avenue, about halfway between Roncesvalles and Sorauren avenues. It was completed in 1894, and in 1895, in the month of January, it was opened.
When it was first opened there were eight rooms and ten teachers. In September 1900, four extra rooms were added. Ten rooms were used for one year, and from September, 1901, until the present, twelve rooms have been in use, and always well filled.
We have fifteen teachers, including the vice-principal and the principal’s assistant. Only two of these were in the school when it was first opened.
The rooms are spacious, airy, and well lighted, having seating accommodation and sufficient air space for fifty pupils in each room. The desks are so arranged that the light in all cases comes over the left shoulder. The rooms are heated with five furnaces, and no room at any time has been closed on account of the cold. Such care has been taken of our school that though its age is eleven years, it still appears a new building. . . .
After the arrival of the vice-principal, more attention was paid to sport. Both boys and girls have had an excellent record in basketball, and the boys, both senior and junior, in football have always stood first in Ward Six.
—May Roberts, age 12, Senior Fourth Class.
Our Yard and District
. . . The school yard is divided into five sections, in three of which there is a beautiful display of flowers. The other sections are spaces for play—one for boys, the other for girls. There are large sheds in each of these sections for shelter from sun, rain, and storms. We have basketball apparatus for both girls and boys, there being two sets for the girls. We have also several beautiful shade trees, which we highly appreciate during the hot summer days. Thanks to a systematic caretaker, our yard is kept in excellent condition.
The district is very healthy on account of its nearness to the lake, and also as High Park is so near, it being only about five or ten minutes walk from the school. There has been a very nice boulevard made by the York County Loan, which makes it more pleasant to walk to the park. This district is not very densely populated, but we expect it will be soon as there is such a number of houses going up everywhere. As there are large fields in front of the school they are used for a number of different sports. In the winter they are flooded for skating. It makes a good place for sports, as the ground is much higher than farther south. . . .
There are a number of good opportunities for nature study, as High Park is so near, and a great many wild flowers and weeds can be got out there. We have made collections amounting from thirty to forty at different times. High Park is one gorgeous display of natural beauty, hill and dale, woodland and lake, plain and ravine; also excellent driveways, with foliage and flowers on each side. There also may be found a few wild animals, such as the buffalo and deer, in the park, and also the mineral springs, which lead some people to go out on purpose to get a drink of their refreshing waters.
There are also good opportunities for sketching. We have been out twice, studying the characteristics of the trees, such as the elm, maple, birch, and several others.
Although we are so far west, there are near the school a great number of industries. The bolt works, rolling mills, and the car sheds are along the lakeshore. Then just near the school are the York County Loan offices and their buildings, including a new college which has been put up lately, and also a large restaurant. West of the school are the rubber works, on Lansdowne avenue. Just opposite us on Garden avenue is the purse factory. There are also a number of other factories in our district, such as the piano factory owned by the York County Loan Company, situated on Sorauren avenue, near Dundas street.
—Gladys Stringer, Senior IV, Age 15.
