COLUMN: Tales from the Gravel Ridge – The beauty of community

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there existed at a Manitoba location, on the North East quarter, of section 12-6-5E in the Rural Municipality of Hanover, a one-room school bearing the name of Rosengard, registered as No. 2168. It was in that location that I began my early formal education, and it was there, in part, that I received a solid grounding for my future educational pursuits. There was, however, much more that the Rosengard School provided for me in those formative years.

Little did I realize at the time how significant my first day of school was to my sense of identity. While it was true that I still retained the identity of being the youngest daughter in my large family, my social status within the school context was something entirely different. I now became a member of the Grade 1 class, amidst a large group of older students, all being divided into grades, numbering 2 to 8, in addition to one student taking Grade 9 by correspondence.

It was true that my home life was structured, both in terms of mealtimes, as well as various household tasks and activities that were regularly attended to. At home it was expected that members of my family would function and behave in certain accepted roles and modes of behaviour. Attendance at school was an entirely new reality. The class structure and the strict adherence to scheduling took some getting used to.

There are, of course, many aspects in our day to day experiences that contribute to our development and maturation. When it comes to the life of a child, the potential for learning, and of putting new concepts and propositions into practice is immeasurable. The older I become, the more I recognize and acknowledge how much I have been given, and how much that reality continues to enrich my life.

The courses that were on the curriculum for my early childhood education were essential building blocks to further learning. I cherish these tools immensely. It goes without saying that the social aspects that accompanied the structured aspects of my Rosengard School program contributed to my well-being in ways that no school report card could fully express or reflect.

The effect of learning the basic lessons of the curriculum in that carefully planned environment contributed to my sense of how to function, and indeed thrive in the context of community. I was learning outside the safe and familiar context of my home, making new friends and engaging in various social activities. I learned too that our educational pursuits could be adapted to new ideas, as occasion might arise.

The annual Christmas concert at our school was one of those special events that brought the community together in wonderfully unique ways. Teacher and students had worked hard to learn lines of verse or dialogue reflecting the lessons and the blessings of the Season, along with songs that gladdened the hearts of all of us.

On that occasion the school building itself was brightly decorated with bells and streamers, along with coloured chalk drawings, the details having been transferred to the blackboard by means of a perforated template, and subsequently filled in by the teacher with coloured chalk. A spruce tree, carefully adorned with ornaments, including small wax candles, brightened up the room.

On the night of the Christmas concert the school children sat alongside one wall of the school, on trestle benches specially arranged for the occasion, leaving room for parents and other family members to sit in the seats normally occupied by the students. The young men of the community found room at the back and in the overflow of the coat-room. Year after year the celebration of the meaning of Christmas took place in our community as it did in schools across the province.

To my mind the beauty and wonder of a community coming together to hear the children speak and sing of peace and goodwill, not only for us, but for the whole world, powerfully reflected the fundamental message of the birth of the Christ-child.