Commonwealth of Memories

As I look at the calendar, we are midway through the month of July.  The season of summer has officially kicked off, and for every student between the ages of 5-18, this means that the summer is theirs to do whatever they want to do.  They can go to summer camp, they can swim in the pool, they can eat so much ice cream they develop permanent brain freeze.

Or you could just waste time reading a book underneath the shade of a gigantic tree.  Or, I suppose nowadays, kids can take out their mobile phones and play "Candy Crush" underneath a tree.  Or, so I've heard, anyway.

Of course, summer vacation only lasts for a few precious weeks before the schools reopen and kids begin another year of reading, writing, and arithmetic.  It was a time of year that I simultaneously loved and hated.  I loved the idea of starting a new school year and buying school supplies...but I hated the idea of summer ending and having to spend the next nine and a half months with classmates I may or may not have liked. 

But what happens when your school decides not to reopen in the new school year?

Well, in the next couple of years, some students will be faced with that prospect...at least in my province anyway.  Several schools will be closing over the next three years because of low enrollment, and many schools will combine their student populations to form one school. 

And one of those schools that is on the chopping block happens to be my old elementary school.

Apparently, it will be closing along with two other elementary schools in the area and all of those students will be going to the remaining schools in the city.  There's talk of demolishing at least one of these school buildings and rebuilding a larger school to accommodate most of the displaced kids. 

Now, I have no idea what will happen to my old elementary school.  I don't know if it will remain open until the new school is supposed to be built, or if it will close at the end of the 2017/18 school year, of if it too will be knocked down.  There's a lot of questions flying around, and I'm not even sure if I have all the facts straight yet.  But I do know that the announcement made me think about my time at Commonwealth Public School, and how many memories I have associated with that place.

I guess I would like to use this piece to talk about my experiences, both good and bad, as a student at Commonwealth P.S.  That way, even if the school does close and ceases to exist, I'll have a digital memory of it here.

I attended Commonwealth as a student between the years 1987 and 1995, and for the most part I do have some good memories of the place.  There were some moments that I really would rather forget about though.  The bullies who picked on me every day.  The first grade teacher who tried to break me as a person.  The fact that I could never get a grade higher than a C minus in phys ed.  The blasted disciplinary chart that made all of us hate the letter "X" for ten years after the fact.  Yeah.  All memories that I want to forget.

But there are a lot of memories that stand out in my memory for all the good reasons.  Consider this a scrapbook of my time at Commonwealth P.S.  A real window into what elementary school in Canada was like in the 1980s and 1990s.

So, what do I remember most?

Well, our school colours for one.  I think we were one of the only schools in the entire province of Ontario whose school colours were royal blue and Orange Crush!  Not exactly the most beautiful of colour combinations, was it?  I suppose the orange made sense as our school mascot was the Commonwealth Cougar...but cougars had black spots...not blue.  At least it's something to remember.

I also remember earning these lovely blue and orange felt patches for my involvement in the school concert band.  The blue ones were for arts and science achievements while the orange ones were for athletics.  I played the baritone from sixth to eighth grades and took part in several school concerts.  I still remember the day when the eighth grade baritone player bailed and I had to play the solo as the only seventh grade baritone player.  I pulled it off brilliantly.

Mrs. Barclay was the school librarian during my entire tenure at the school, and I remember that our library at that time was in the basement.  It's a wonder none of us ended up with asbestos poisoning!  Though the crown jewel of the old school library was the red bathtub that was placed in the center of the reading area, and how all of us kids would fight to see which ones would spend library period in that bathtub.  Of course, the tub wasn't real.  It didn't have water hookups.  It was just a cool way to read books.  Oh, and I earned this nifty certificate for my research skills when I was just seven years old!  Not bad, huh?

I still have quite a few of my awards from when I attended Commonwealth as a student.  In sixth grade, our teacher would hand out Certificates of Achievement each week to those students who were mostly well behaved during that time.  I admit that I didn't get as many certificates as I would have liked, but that was because I was still a little bit rebellious against authority figures - stemming back to my grade one nightmare teacher.  My sixth grade teacher was a sweetheart though, and to this day, Mrs. Woodfine has always been my favourite elementary school teacher.  She helped me get into the idea of writing my feelings down, which helped me a great deal.  So if you want someone to blame for the last six years of this blog, blame her!  (Just kidding.)

Commonwealth P.S. was also one of the places where many of us learned how to use a computer for the first time, and I can recall dozens of instances where I'd play all sorts of games such as "Number Munchers", "Type Away", and my personal favourite, "Pick-A-Dilly Pair".

(Coincidentally, I was the champion of that game in second grade...and I NEVER LOST ONE MATCH.  EVER.)

For some reason, this song was also a key part of my second grade learning experience.  I have no idea why it has stuck in my brain for so long, but kudos to Carole King for making Chicken Soup with Rice so musically appealing.  For some reason, a lot of Commonwealth memories are associated with second grade.  The Mouse and the Motorcycle, McDonald's Day, giving Warm Fuzzies to our classmates...as well as being hospitalized for an asthma attack and missing my class photo that year...and speaking of which..

One part of school that I had a mixed reaction to was class picture day.  Above is the class picture that I took back when I was in grade five.  Let's just say that 1991 wasn't a kind year for me...or anybody else for that matter.

Then again, 1995 wasn't much better.  This was my grade eight graduation photo in which everything went wrong.  My hair was a mess, my face had broken out, and let's just say it's a good thing I was wearing that robe because I had accidentally squirted ketchup all over the white dress shirt I wore.  Why didn't they have our grad pics taken BEFORE lunch?

Of course, the good thing about graduation was getting that diploma which allowed us to pass into the world of high school - which admittedly I despised with the fire of a million suns, but the 14-year-old in me didn't see it as such.  And I had a great time at the grad dance.

Though, I should clarify...he wasn't my date.  This happens to be my best friend from those days, and twenty-two years later we're still very tight.  Probably one of the only people I can truly say that about.

Now there are some memories of Commonwealth P.S. that I have no photos of (or very few), so I can only describe them here using my words.  Any of my classmates that are reading this, I hope this list brings back some fond memories.  Here's a list of 40 that I can think of spur of the moment.

1.  WALKING TO THE CENOTAPH EVERY REMEMBRANCE DAY
2.  BEING THE "B" IN BRAVERY AT THE REMEMBRANCE DAY ASSEMBLY
3.  MY JUMP ROPE FOR HEART POSTER WHICH ENDED UP IN THE SCHOOL ART GALLERY
4.  THE COMMONWEALTH P.S. WINTER OLYMPICS FIELD DAY
5.  THE ANNUAL CRAZY HAT BARBECUE
6.  THE ANNUAL TEACHERS VS. GRADE 8 SOFTBALL GAME
7.  TRAIN SAFETY ASSEMBLIES
8.  USING "EAT OR CHEW" CARDS IN MADAME MORGAN'S FRENCH CLASS

9.  THE DIMOITOU PUPPET IN FRENCH CLASS

10.  THE DIMOITOU PUPPET SUSTAINING HEAD TRAUMA AFTER A CLASSMATE THREW IT AND THE WHOLE ACTIVITY CART DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS

11.  GIVING "WARM FUZZIES" TO MY SECOND GRADE CLASSMATES
12.  SCHOOL FUNDRAISING

13.  SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIRS

14.  PLAYING "SCRABBLE" IN 8TH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS CLASS

15.  LEARNING HOW TO PLAY THE "STOCK MARKET" WITH DR. DIVIDEND

16.  GRADE 8 FIELD TRIP TO TORONTO TO VISIT CANADA'S WONDERLAND AND SEE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

17.  5th GRADE POOL PARTY AT MR. HASKIN'S PLACE

18.  LEARNING HOW TO SLOW DANCE AT MY FIRST SCHOOL DANCE

19.  HAVING MY FINGER BROKEN BY A BOWLING BALL IN 4TH GRADE GYM CLASS

20.  HAVING KIDS ASK ME HOW TO SPELL WORDS...AND REGRETTING NOT CHARGING THEM FIVE CENTS PER LETTER

21.  USING RACCOONS COLOUR CHANGING MARKERS EVERY DAY IN SECOND GRADE

22.  SCRATCH AND SNIFF STICKERS - WE ALL LOVED THESE!
23.  THE BATHROOM KEYS WE USED IN SECOND GRADE

24.  GETTING AN INDOOR SUSPENSION FOR DEFENDING MYSELF - HEY, THEY WEREN'T ALL GOOD MEMORIES!
25.  BUILDING A DIORAMA OF A MOUNTAIN RANGE IN SIXTH GRADE
26.  RUNNING FOR CLASS REP DURING SCHOOL ELECTIONS...AND COMING IN DEAD LAST!
27.  CONTRIBUTING TO THE 5TH GRADE ENVIRONMENT MAGAZINE OUR CLASS MADE - AND REALIZING THAT I LOVED WRITING

28.  GETTING THE HIGHEST MARK ON THE WATERLOO MATH CONTEST IN 7TH GRADE - A FLUKE, SINCE IT'S MY WORST SUBJECT!
29.  THE CURVED YELLOW SLIDE THAT I ONCE FELL OFF OF AND SKINNED MY KNEE ON
30.  READING BUDDIES!

31.  MAKING AN ELF IN FIRST GRADE THIRTY YEARS AGO...AND REALIZING THAT I STILL HAVE A BUTTERSCOTCH CANDY INSIDE SAID ELF THAT HAS REMAINED FOR THIRTY YEARS!

32.  THIRD GRADE BEING THE "WINNIE THE POOH" YEAR - EVERY ACTIVITY WE DID SEEMED TO INVOLVE WINNIE THE POOH!
33.  OUR FIRST GRADE TEACHER GETTING STUCK IN THE STORYTIME CHAIR - THE FIRST TIME I LEARNED THE DEFINITION OF LASER GUIDED KARMA.
34.  SECRET SANTA EXCHANGES - I STILL HAVE EVERY GIFT I EVER RECEIVED!
35.  KIDS WHO TRIED TO TEASE ME BY POPPING BALLOONS IN MY FACE KNOWING THAT IT REALLY BOTHERED ME.  REAL MATURE, GUYS.  FORTUNATELY, I AM IN TOUCH WITH NONE OF THOSE MORONS.
36.  THE SCHOOL JANITOR, MR. MCMILLAN.  HE WAS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE GREATEST LISTENERS/PIANO PLAYERS THE SCHOOL EVER HAD AND HE WAS MY FRIEND.  HE DIED THE YEAR AFTER I GRADUATED.

37.  TRYING TO BURY A KID IN THE KINDERGARTEN SANDBOX.  YEP.  THAT HAPPENED.

38.  DOING A FACEPLANT IN THE ICY PAVEMENT IN GRADE ONE AND NEARLY BREAKING MY NOSE.  I WAS NOT GRACEFUL.  AT ALL.

39.  SEEING MY THIRD GRADE TEACHER, MR. PORTER DRESSED IN A KILT AND PLAYING THE BAGPIPES ON REMEMBRANCE DAY, 1989.

And finally...

40.  TO THE FEW FRIENDSHIPS THAT I HAVE MAINTAINED SINCE THOSE YEARS...AND HOW MANY OF YOU WERE DECENT AND GOOD PEOPLE WHO DESERVE THE BEST.  AND HOW I WOULD RATHER HAVE A REUNION WITH YOU GUYS THAN THE STUCK-UP SNOTS I ATTENDED HIGH SCHOOL WITH!  THANKS FOR MAKING MY TIME AT COMMONWEALTH P.S. SEEM MORE BEARABLE!