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Pemberton high school opens doors for Winterfest

Open house shows off school's upside

By Cindy Filipenko

The kids are all right. No, make that “the kids are excellent”. That’s what teacher Sarah Douglas hopes people will go away feeling after they’ve attended the Pemberton Secondary School open house.

“We’ve made an invitation to all the students of PSS to come out and contribute,” said Douglas. “The hoped for outcome (of the open house) is to boost our image in the community. We’re trying to go from ‘Those darned kids who litter at McDonald’s’ to ‘Wow, look at the talent those kids have.’”

The open house is being held in conjunction with next weekend’s Winterfest activities. Scheduled for Monday, Feb. 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the open house will highlight the creative and academic capacities of some of the school’s 310 students.

“In addition to showing the crafts and art, we’re also going to have booths with kids with the top grades in school. We’re going to invite them to come and talk to parents. We’re going to have our sports teams there, representing the sporting side of Pemberton — we want to show people that there’s an awful lot going on in this community,” said the teacher who also gives instruction in drama.

The open house is being organized by Grade 8 to Grade 12 student engaged in the extra-curricular, but accredited, Leadership program. In addition to ensuring that the displays, which include music, art, woodworking and drama, will be in place on time, some members of the Leadership program will be on hand to provide guided tours.

Attendees will have their choice of how they choose to experience the various exhibits, either alone or with a student guide.

“We’re hoping by doing this the community will see how much teenagers have to offer,” said Douglas.

Winterfest, a Pemberton Spirit of B.C. Committee event, runs from Friday, Feb. 9 to Monday, Feb. 12. Complete events schedules are available in Pemberton at participating businesses and organizations.