BY GREG SAKAKI
Students who attended St. Mary’s Convent School in Ladysmith are invited to a school reunion celebrating 100 years of history.
The school was open for nearly 50 years starting in 1923, when nine pioneer Sisters of Charity of Halifax took the train across Canada start missions in Ladysmith and Burnaby, according to an e-mail from the Sisters of Charity.
Marilyn Johnson attended the convent school in the 1940s, and says she has good memories of her school days there. She was still in contact with one of the sisters until her death a few years ago.
“The sisters all became our friends,” Johnson said.
Nearly 60 sisters taught at the convent school over the years, and while none are still alive, many of the former students still live in Ladysmith and in nearby communities including Parksville-Qualicum Beach and Lake Cowichan.
“Old school friends,” Johnson said. “There are still quite a few of us around.”
The building was constructed in 1908 and first served as an orphanage. The old church that used to be on the grounds burned down in the 1960s, Johnson said, but the convent school remained open until 1970 and the old school building still stands on Buller Street and has been converted to an apartment building.
Students at St. Mary’s Convent School could attend there from Kindergarten through Grade 8. Alongside the religious teachings, students got a good all-round education, Johnson said.
“I can remember when I went to Grade 9 up at the high school, it was very traumatic because we went from a little convent into a classroom,” she said. “But I remember we had an English exam and one of the teachers, after we turned our papers in and he corrected them, he stood at the front of the class and said, ‘I can tell you every person that came from St. Mary’s, because their English was so good.’ We had good teachers.”
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the start of the mission, the Sisters of Charity are inviting community members for a reunion tea on Aug. 26 at 3 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church hall and a mass at 5 p.m.
For more information, call Joan Johnston at 250-245-2928 or Marilyn Johnson at 250-245-4463.
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