Past students return to facility for anniversary reunion
Jun 29, 2009 - 03:16 PM
By Jeff Hayward
WHITBY -- If you ask some of the former students of Trafalgar Castle School what life skills they learned there, you'll hear a common word.
Independence.
Several past pupils of Trafalgar, some who travelled long distances, made their way back to the Reynolds Street school recently to celebrate its 135th anniversary in fine style with a band and outdoor feast.
Jennifer Brice, originally from Jamaica and now living in Houston, Texas, said she left the girls school, which has students from Grade 6 to 12, in 1975 and hadn't returned to Canada until the most recent school reunion. She is the international manager for Continental Airlines, and before that was in a 1977 film called 'A Piece of the Action' as well as starring in commercials.
"Trafalgar taught me independence, to make it as my own as a woman," she said.
She added the school prepared her well for post-secondary education in the U.S. "I blew away my SATs," she said.
Phyllis Albrey Garraway, from the Bahamas, graduated from Trafalgar in 1974 and now runs a business back home, she said. "Trafalgar made me more independent, made me have more confidence," she said. She said the academy she now operates is based on the same principles. "We develop talents in children... we teach them the real things in life, like manners."
The Bahamas native also noted things have changed over the years at her former school. "There are totally more opportunities here," she said.
Rhonda Daley, who handles marketing and development for Trafalgar, said over the years there have been a lot of changes, such as the addition of a robotics program. "We're a technology school too," said Ms. Daley. She also said the school boasts a 100 per cent university placement rate this year.
Marlene Smith graduated in 1950. She went on to be a theatrical producer, and worked on big-ticket shows such as the musical Cats, she said. But she hasn't forgotten her education roots. "I had the best time here," she said at the reunion. For others, the school was more than just a place of learning. Marilyn Broughton, a 1954 Trafalgar graduate originally from Newfoundland, said she was the first woman married at the chapel on the school grounds. "I met my husband here on a blind date," reminisced Ms. Broughton.
While many in attendance at the weekend-long celebration left the school years ago, some recent grads stuck around for the festivities. Lindsay Pilon graduated this year and plans to study early childhood education at a post-secondary level. "Through the opportunities Trafalgar gives (us) working with others, it has helped me go into something that helps people," she said.
Brian McClure, Trafalgar's principal who has been on staff for 31 years, said the celebration is "kind of a neat event to reconnect... I've seen some people today I first taught in 1978."
The school threw a big bash during its centennial year, he added. "(Reunions) are becoming a tradition every five years," said Mr. McClure.
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