First Years At Steveston Steveston Secondary, the oldest remaining secondary school in Richmond, was opened in 1956. Initially, Steveston was a junior high school made up of grade 7, 8 and 9’s that mostly came from Lord Byng Elementary School. The very first principal at the school was Mr. Ernie Ball, who remained at Steveston until 1965. Steveston’s first graduating class was celebrated in 1961. The school began as a tiny building that consisted of 25 classrooms, 23 teachers and a student population of 609. The rules in the school were very strict even during breaks. Students that didn’t follow the school rules would be severely punished as a result. Such rules as having to line up in a single file manner to enter or leave a classroom. Also, girls were only allowed to wear dresses and boys were not permitted to wear jeans.

Steveston in 1981.

Steveston Senior Secondary 1961-1995 Not long after the school opened, Steveston became a junior and senior school in 1959. There were a lot of changes through out the first couple of years at Steveston. The first year that Steveston established a grade 12 class was in September of 1960, which also brought the first graduation class in June of 1961. After being a junior and senior school, the population gradually began to rise. During the school year of 1960/1961 many things started. The very first annual, The Olympus, was created by Reg Stuart, and the sponsor teachers were Mr. Alpin and Mr. Noakes. During the early 60’s, Steveston established a tradition of athletic excellence. In 1960, the football, badminton, and swimming teams were formed. During that year, Don Payne was the first Packer to score the very first point in football. As years went by, more and more teams were winning different titles and making it all the way to the Provincials.

Over the years at Steveston, the physical building has changed greatly. In 1966, Industrial Education classrooms were added. In 1970, the library was expanded, two new classrooms were built, two new home economics labs and also the courtyard were added. Also, the gym had changes and additions in 1971. Steveston construction students built the student lounge during 1974-1976. In 1978, five new classrooms were added and the Social Studies area was made. The biggest renovation was probably the million-dollar project for Steveston’s Silver Jubilee of 1981. Steveston’s 25th birthday saw the school renovated yet again to improve the building to modern standards. The construction included the music room, cafeteria and parking lot. The Silver Jubilee Year was a big event for Steveston and the party was held on Friday, Jan 9, 1981 and started at 1:05pm during school time as the classes were shortened. There were stage bands, and a huge amount of balloons, and cheerleaders. Lights were dimmed, and stage band started playing songs. Seventeen cheerleaders performed while four massive six-foot cakes came out. It took six teachers to cut the cake. The Steveston High School Alumni Association (SHSAA) was established in 1987 by the graduates of 1962 who were celebrating their 25-year reunion. SHSAA was the first public high school alumni association in Canada. It helped raise money for the school for purchases such as the weight room & all equipment and giving out annual scholarships. In 1988, the Salmon Hatchery was completed, again by construction students at Steveston. Each year the hatchery raises and releases thousands of salmon into local streams.

Steveston Secondary School 1996-Present

From 1965 to 1995, Steveston was a “senior high school” and home to only Grade 11 and 12 students. In 1996, the Richmond School District decided to change all secondary schools to a Grade 8 – 12 configuration. During that year, Steveston faced a lot of new challenges. The population was around 1600, which resulted in sharing lockers and hallways packed with students. In 1998, a new secondary school opened nearby and Steveston's catchment area was changed, therefore the population began to decrease. The same year, the Salmon Hatchery celebrated it's 10th anniversary. The hatchery was opened to the public and hundreds of community members came to visit. The next year, the school was repainted and hallways were brighter. The doors and lockers were painted with the famous school colours – purple and gold. The same year, the Parent Advisory Council, Alumni Association, and the school raised $11,200 for a better sound system in the gym. (Having a better sound system was not done purposely to improve the singing of "12 Days of Christmas" by the staff's annual presentation at the "Breakfast with Santa" event.)

Special Occasions

Over the years, there are numerous events that have become proud traditions at the school. The Halloween Dance, the Purple and Gold basketball tournament, home opener basketball games, and the home coming dance. Ever since the mid 70's, Steveston has hosted the classic Purple and Gold basketball tournament each year. It consists of 16 teams from different schools throughout the province. One of the most exciting events of all would be the home openers of the senior basketball teams. Back in earlier times, the games would be televised on the local cable channel, with cheerleaders and the bleachers jam-packed with enthusiastic Packer fans.

Since 1983, it has been a Steveston tradition to help out the children at Casa Guatemala Orphanage. During the Guatemala Week, the school raises money to help out the children at the orphanage. Steveston would raise money by bottle-drive, in-school pizza sales and a car wash. In 1994-1995, Steveston sponsored Guillermo Perez, an outstanding student, to study at our school for one year.

Breakfast with Santa is held annually on the last day of school before the Christmas Holidays. Classes would sing Christmas carols in different languages and staff would be called up to sing "The 12 Days of Christmas" much to the humour and delight of the students. This event usually raises over $1000 for the Richmond Food Bank. Since 2003, the PAC and Dry-Grad committees have worked very hard to put on an outstanding “dry grad” celebration for Steveston’s graduating students. Each year the event gets bigger and better.

Photos courtesy of The Richmond Review

Story by Crystal Koo