Protestant school

Protestant school

Education from the 1930s to the 1950s was divided along religious lines. It was therefore not unusual, as the town welcomed its first families, for two schools to be under construction. The Protestant school was built on the first plateau of Mont Sec, on what is now Mance Avenue. Classes were taught by lay people. Over the years, the following teachers were: Mrs. P. Bonnel, Mrs. Eileen Payne, Miss Craig and Miss Fuller, Mrs. W.A. Hanson, Mrs. W.A. Wilson, and Miss Gladys McKay. In 1945, Mr. Kenneth Nish was appointed principal of the school.

The Protestant population being diverse, but small in size, it is not surprising that the small school met the needs of the parents until 1947 when an extension was carried out and, in 1959, a gymnasium was added.

Beyond the lessons, the children are well stimulated by a variety of activities: choral singing, afternoon cinema, public speaking competitions, presentations of short plays.

In the mid-1960s, the abandonment of denominational schools, combined with an exodus of English-speaking families, led to English-speaking students, whether Catholic or Protestant, being brought together in the same school. The school moved to a new building under the name McCormick School (the building burned down in 2004). Then a decade later, their numbers steadily dwindling, they moved to the Ste-Amélie School building, under the name Baie-Comeau High School. Both elementary and secondary education were taught there.