It truly is the last day of school for a small community in the North Okanagan.
Classrooms sit empty and will stay that way at Ashton Creek Elementary School. Students had their last day of classes on Thursday and they will not be returning in the fall. Teachers were there to clean up on Friday but after that, the small school is closing down.
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Enrolment at Ashton Creek has declined in recent years and there were staffing challenges.
Principal Rudy Ingenhorst laments the closure of another small community school.
“It does not feel good. It really does not feel good. School takes on a life of its own and right now, it just feels mortally wounded,” Ingenhorst said.
“I feel sadness because the community really has lost a very, very important part of its identity. Apprehension, not only on the part of students but parents too. Their kids will be swallowed up in a bigger system. And just a sense of loss I think,” he said.
The 30 Ashton Creek students will be bussed 15 minutes to nearby M.V. Beattie Elementary in Enderby in the fall.
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