summerside's three oaks senior high school celebrates 50 years
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educational assistant janet bradshaw, left, student damon noonan and principal jacqueline reeves stand in front of one of the trophy cases at three oaks senior high.
kristin gardiner
/
journal pioneer
summerside, p.e.i. — nearly 50 years ago, janet bradshaw stepped into the freshly opened three oaks senior high school (tosh) for the first time.
it’s a day she still remembers well — how could she not?
“the first day was utter chaos,” she said. “nobody knew the building, nobody knew most of the teachers because the teachers came from three schools. you didn’t know other students.”
the opening of tosh in 1976 marked the amalgamation of summerside high school — a building which is now summerside intermediate school — as well as students from athena regional high school and miscouche regional high school.
“no one was happy coming to this building. we didn’t want to come here,” said bradshaw. “it didn’t mean a thing to us.”
but, as she and her former classmates gear up for their 50th reunion later this summer, friction has been replaced with pride. they may all have spent their prior grades at other schools, but they are glad to say they graduated from tosh.
tosh back then
graduation wasn’t the end of bradshaw’s time at tosh. she began substitute teaching there in october of 1982 and now works as an education assistant. she has seen how the building has evolved over the years.
when she attended the school, it was never boring, said bradshaw. even though she wasn’t present for it, she recalled one day that was marked by a student releasing a live chicken into the cafeteria. the perp was unknown until he confessed at their 25th reunion.
janet bradshaw graduated from three oaks senior high in 1977, and was part of the first class to graduate the then-new school.
kristin gardiner
/
journal pioneer
while some of her classmates had jobs, many involved themselves in the school culture as much as possible.
“we had a musical that year, and we had all these sports teams, and we had a newspaper,” said bradshaw. “most people stayed for lunch, and most people were involved with something at lunch.”
the biggest change from her time to now, though, is in technology. they’ve gone from typing classes to students having personal computers in class — although they’re shifting back to pen and paper — and chalkboards have been replaced by smartboards.
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the school also underwent a major renovation project in 2015, updating the building, alongside changes like moving the lockers from rooms to the hallways and adding a black box theatre.
but some things don’t change — the gowns the grads don before walking on stage to grab their diplomas are the same gowns worn when bradshaw graduated, though the school is working to replace them.
janet bradshaw leafs through her old year book, the first one to come out of three oaks senior high when the school opened in 1976.
kristin gardiner
/
journal pioneer
tosh now
five decades later, the tosh bradshaw attended looks much different than the one current grade 12 student damon noonan has experienced.
this year, noonan and his classmates are the school’s 50th graduating class.
“a lot of people say high school is some of the funniest years,” he said. “i’d 100 per cent back that up. it’s been a great time. you meet a lot of people, you see a lot of things, you see a lot of different cultures. it’s great.”
while everyone has their friend groups, noonan said there’s not much in the way of clique culture, but everyone supports each other in a way that makes the school feel like a family.
the school’s population has also diversified over the years, which is one of the bigger changes noonan’s noticed; in her time, the school was far less multicultural, with nearly everyone hailing from summerside and the immediate surrounding area.
grade 12 student damon noonan is part of the 50th class to graduate from three oaks senior high.
journal pioneer
today, there are students from around the world, from a number of backgrounds.
unlike bradshaw’s class from 50 years ago, noonan and many of his peers go home for lunch.
“especially when the grade 11 students get their g (learning permit),” he said. “it’s all heck breaks loose. everyone’s excited to go.”
there are more trades options than there were 50 years ago — noonan partook in carpentry, welding and did a co-op — and more sports options.
one new addition that comes to noonan’s mind is unified bocce ball, a special olympics sport that pairs disabled and non-disabled athletes.
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“it’s honestly one of the best,” he said. “i’m so glad i took it and did it. it’s a lot of fun.”
staff memories
tosh is a special place, said jacqueline reeves, who has been its principal since 2021. it’s where she had her first teaching contract in 1995.
though she had left a few times, all roads in her teaching career eventually led back to the summerside high school.
“i loved it here from the time that i started,” she said. “i’ve always felt like my heart was always here, because of people. i don’t know, there’s something to be said about three oaks.”
vice principal david chisholm has also been a tosh staple since september 1995. summerside wasn’t where he imagined he’d end up, but it’s a place he’s glad to be.
“the school’s been in my family for a long time, since my father-in-law, clem gallant, who was one of the first vice principals. all of his children went through here,” he said.
“all of the staff members have been great, but the people i looked back to are those people that have been lifers here at three oaks. those are the ones that just kind of made you feel like jacqueline described how it was.”
“like a family,” finished reeves.
five decades later
with 50 years of tosh on the horizon, the school has plans to celebrate. specifically, they are holding an open house at the school on oct. 16, from 6 to 9 p.m. it is an event bradshaw is helping organize, alongside some former staff.
“that will kind of be the kick-off for a big year that we want to have,” said reeves. “the class of 2027 is going to be a really special year, celebrating 50 years. it’s a huge milestone.”
reeves added that a few staff members will be “graduating” as well, referring to her and chisholm’s planned retirement.
jacqueline reeves, principal at three oaks senior high, didn’t attend tosh, but it’s where she had her first teaching contract. the school, she said, is a special place that feels like a family.
kristin gardiner
/
journal pioneer
bradshaw has also been working on a project to highlight sports alumni, take 50 male and 50 female athletes of the year, and show what they’ve done since graduating and where they are now.
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as for year-long celebration plans, reeves has a lot in the works — bradshaw joked that it’s a secret — but not many details yet. one idea she has, though, would be putting on a school musical next year.
ahead of the open house, reeves said they are asking people for memorabilia to display the school’s “green and gold” colours throughout the decades.
they are also preparing a slideshow with photos. anyone with mementoes or pictures they would like to lend for display can do so by contacting joel arsenault at jyarsenault@edu.pe.ca or 902 439 4894.
everyone is welcome, bradshaw said.
“welcoming back former staff who are able to come, and participate and enjoy,” added reeves.
“it’ll be a great opportunity for people to come in and see our building and take a trip down memory lane. we hope we have a big crowd to see their former teachers and just celebrate 50 years.”
kristin gardiner is a reporter for the journal pioneer in prince edward island. she can be reached at kgardiner@postmedia.com.
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