Hello! My name is Kirstyn Skelley and I am the person behind this research project. I am passionate about education, art, history, learning, and teaching. I was planning on graduating with my Bachelor of Arts with a History major this spring, but as I received my rejection letter for the 2021 PDP (teachers) program, I Read more about About Me![…]
Miss Stenersen was born in Tonsberg, Norway and moved with her mother and siblings to Matsqui in 1904 to reunite with her father who had been mining in the Yukon and Alaska. She attended elementary school in Ridgedale—just outside the Matsqui Prairie—wrote her departmental exams in Abbotsford and attended high school in Matsqui. She studied Read more about Margaret Stenersen[…]
Mary Ten Broeck had worked in the Abbotsford District from 1949 to 1967. She had spent her last teaching year at Upper Sumas School before retiring and moving to North Vancouver. While she worked in the school district, she had positions as a remedial teacher, a reading consultant, as a primary consultant, and had worked Read more about Mary Ten Broeck[…]
Born on March 18, 1930 in Saskatchewan, Dave moved to the village of Matsqui with his sisters and parents in 1945. Dave began his career teaching basketball, P.E., and Social Studies at his former high school, Phillip Sheffield, and at Abbotsford Senior from 1954-1956. Dave had been elected as a school trustee in 1971—Dave was Read more about Dave Kandal[…]
The first “white settler” of B.C., the founder of Abbotsford. John Maclure was born in Wigtownshire, Scotland in 1831. John arrived in B.C. in 1868—the British Government wanted young men to travel to B.C. to take part in the development of the area. John was a surveyor with the Royal Engineers Corp, aiding in planning Read more about John Maclure[…]
There were two areas that peaked my interest when researching this project; finding out how the school board was able to use well-known names—local and non-local. It left me questions such as, did they contact the person directly? and how did they decide on which person to honor? Going through the research, I noticed a Read more about The Connections with Historical Canadian Figures[…]
Welcome to the page of mini biographies! This page is the introduction that will lead you into exploring how local Abbotsford residents had schools named in their honor. Although there are many more Abbotsford schools who have been named by local figures, I decided to focus on four. You will find four separate tabs that Read more about Schools Named After Local Abbotsford Figures[…]
The Marathon of Hope The Marathon of Hope began with Terry Fox on April 12, 1980, in Newfoundland and Labrador with the intentions to complete the journey in Victoria, British Columbia. In 2021, the Terry Fox School Run now marks 41 years of participation! Every fall, more than 3.7 million students in over 9,000 schools Read more about The Terry Fox School Run[…]
Only having access between 2004-2021, it is interesting to notice the steady decline between 2004 to 2013, then again until 2016. The student enrolment at Hansen in 2004 was at a high 1,076, steadily declining until 2013 with 770 students. The lowest enrolment number Hansen Secondary received was in 2016 with 591 students. In 2015, Read more about Rick Hansen Demographics[…]
When Howe opened its doors in September 2001, there were 596 students enrolled in grades 6-8. 2001 Demographics for the Howe catchment 27% of the school population comes from an Indo-Canadian background 85% of parents hold a high school diploma 13% of parents hold a post-secondary diploma 21% of parents reported that no English is Read more about Colleen and Gordie Howe Demographics and Statistics[…]