Katherine Dedyna / Times Colonist JULY 16, 2015
The $51.6-million replacement for Oak Bay High School pretty well got an A-plus from everyone taking the pre-opening tour Wednesday, following two years of on-time, on-budget construction.
Make that A-plus-plus. Three little words summed up the reaction of many: “I love it.”
More specific? “The latest and greatest” place for students to pursue their passions, said student Robert Lee, 16.
“Fabulous,” said Education Minister Peter Fassbender, adding that visiting schools is his favourite part of the job. “Something to be really proud of.”
“Amazing,” said Victoria school district board chairwoman Edith Loring-Kuhanga. “It’s excellent and so very needed.”
It’s the first new school built in the district since Colquitz Middle School in 2002. It will have both a First Nations student lounge/education centre and a totem pole, something that impresses Loring-Kuhanga.
“Inspiring to students,” said student Jasmine Lambert, 15. “Three hundred sixteen projects and this is the most satisfying,” said project manager John Scheeren of Farmer Construction.
“So forward-thinking and so accommodating to the diversity that is our student population,” said Dree Thomson-Diamond, parent and fundraising volunteer.