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A Typical School Day:

Hugh Stroud, a student who began school at age 7 in 1921 at the original McTavish schoolhouse, described the schoolhouse and a typical school day. The school had an anteroom, perhaps the cloakroom, which he remembers was often used as a backstop for baseball games. Inside the classroom, there were a few rows of desks and a stove in the centre of the room. The school day went from 9am to 4pm with 15 to 20 minute recesses in the morning and afternoon, and an hour lunch break from noon to 1pm. Students usually brought their lunches to school. It was often too far to walk home for lunch. The teacher rang the hand bell to signify the beginning and end of classes and recesses. Holidays were held over Christmas and Easter, as well as summer vacation in July and August.

According to Captain William ("Billy") Bird, classes included: "The Three R's:" Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, as well as History and Geography. Grades 1 to 9 were in one classroom together and the older students usually helped teach the younger students. The youngest students sat at the front of the classroom at the small desks, and the older students sat further back at bigger desks. Seven double desks were used in the first schoolhouse. Single desks were used in the second schoolhouse, circa 1927.

There were approximately 25 students enrolled circa 1920, and it was a fairly equal ratio of boys to girls. Most of the students were Aboriginals, but there was no discrimination among the students. Very few of the Aboriginal pupils spoke English when they started attending school, but the teacher taught them to speak English quickly and they were able to understand one another. The students got along well and they all played together during school and after school in the evenings.

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P2011.40.11: Boys playing baseball in front of the old school porch, circa 1927
circa 1927
McMurray, Alberta, Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


Credits:
Stroud Family Collection
Fort McMurray Historical Society

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School Artifacts: Teacher's Handbell
circa 1915
Heritage Park, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Photographer - Sarah Robertson
Fort McMurray Historical Society - Interpretive Items
School Programs

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School Artifacts: Lunch pail
circa 1915
Heritage Park, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Photographer - Sarah Robertson
Fort McMurray Historical Society - Interpretive Items
School Programs

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Virtual Tour of the Schoolhouse: A2005.137.1a-x: Students' single desks (detail: side view)
circa 1915
Heritage Park, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


Credits:
Photographer - Sarah Robertson
Fort McMurray Public School Board
Fort McMurray Historical Society

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Virtual Tour of the Schoolhouse: Students' single desks (view of classroom from near the blackboard)
16 January 2012
Heritage Park, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


Credits:
Photographer - Sarah Robertson
Fort McMurray Public School Board
Fort McMurray Historical Society

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School Day
early to mid- 20th Century
McMurray, Alberta, Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


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The students wore regular clothes (not uniforms), and school supplies were provided by the school. Textbooks and readers were loaned to students for the school year, and then returned after. Most students used scribblers and pencils or pens and inkwells, but some also used slates and chalk. Sometimes the winters were so cold that the ink froze in the inkwells!

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P2008.46.1: Cassia McTavish with her students in front of the original schoolhouse
1912 - 1923
McMurray, Alberta, Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


Credits:
Bob Duncan
Fort McMurray Historical Society

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School Artifacts: P992.6.1a: The Alexandra Readers Primer
1913
Heritage Park, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Waterstreet Family
Fort McMurray Historical Society

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School Artifacts: P992.6.1c: The Alexandra Readers Second Book - lessons in the textbook
1910
Heritage Park, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Fort McMurray Historical Society
Goodwin Family Collection

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School Artifacts: P992.6.1c: The Alexandra Readers Second Book - lessons in the textbook
1910
Heritage Park, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Fort McMurray Historical Society
Goodwin Family Collection

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School Artifacts: P992.6.1c: The Alexandra Readers Second Book - lessons in the textbook
1910
Heritage Park, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Fort McMurray Historical Society
Goodwin Family Collection

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School Artifacts: P992.16.1: Public School Geography
1933
Heritage Park, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Goodwin Collection
Fort McMurray Historical Society