Whistler’s Myrtle Philip Community School turns 30 this year, but its history goes back a little further.
No, not just to the Whistler pioneer who serves as its namesake—she built Rainbow Lodge on the shores on Alta Lake in 1914—but to the first Myrtle Philip School that opened its doors in 1976, right around where the Delta Hotel sits in what’s known today as Whistler Village.
The milestone proved the inspiration for the school’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC) annual fall fundraiser, which this year went “Old School” by reminding parents that while “times have changed,” the school’s “technology has not.”
According to the PAC, Myrtle Philip classes are currently in need of a tech upgrade, including tools like iPads, Chromebooks and interactive whiteboards.
Usually when it comes to school fundraisers, “You’re doing galas or you’re selling something,” explained organizer and PAC member Jodi Carter. “Finally, we were like, ‘Let’s just put a call for donations out,’ and it worked out well for this year.”
When the fundraiser came across Beau Jarvis’ desk, the message resonated immediately—and not just because the fundraiser’s theme matched the moniker of the non-profit organization he founded in recent years.
“I went to the old Myrtle Philip in the village before this was built, and I feel like I still remember those days like it was yesterday, and now this new school is celebrating 30 years already,” he said with a laugh.
Jarvis, who today is president of Vancouver-based Wesgroup Properties, launched the Old School Initiative to help support Whistler’s community, with a particular focus on up-and-coming athletes and clubs who tend to spend most of their time on skateboards, snowboards or skis.
Jarvis’ Old School Initiative donated $1,500 to the PAC; an amount matched by his friends at both Coast Mountain Excavations and the Beedie Group for a total of $4,500.
Between those donations, plus $500 from an organization called DANCEPL3Y, which donated funds raised from a Halloween dance, the PAC surpassed its $9,000 goal to raise $10,340 as of Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 29.
Current MPCS teacher Gerhard Reimer was one of the teachers who made the jump to the ‘new’ school in 1992.
“I think when I started it was 150, 160 students,” he remembered. “It was not even quite one class per grade.”
While the school might be advancing in age, learning technology has been evolving at almost the same rate, he points out. “We started off with a small little computer lab,” Reimer recalled. “Even when we came to this school, we still had a computer lab, where each class would go and still be doing a lot of keyboard and word processing.”
Then came the Internet, followed by Wi-Fi, and laptops and iPads and Chromebooks and other state-of-the-art tech.
“It’s a bit overwhelming, actually, as a as an older teacher, how much technology has come into schools,” he added with a laugh, “But the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation and Parent Advisory Council, they’ve all been big supporters and enabled us to have the technology in our school, which we’ve always been so appreciative of … You know, technology just seems to go obsolete so quickly, so it’s always good to update.”
With the fundraising target hit, the Myrtle Philip school community will celebrate the big 3-0 with a birthday celebration in May.
