The Editor:
The school was still smouldering when the donations started coming in.
The community rallied to support the kids, educators and families who watched as their elementary school, Hazel Trembath, burned to the ground.
Support for Hazel Trembath has remained strong: #HazelStrong.
In just five days, a petition to pressure the government to rebuild Hazel Trembath Elementary School has garnered nearly 1,200 signatures.
This support is in stark contrast to the opinion of Sonja Madsen Mills who argued the site of Hazel Trembath should be turned into green space for all residents to enjoy, with resources diverted to other elementary schools in South PoCo.
It’s easy to make such bold recommendations when one is in, but not part of, the community, and whose children have not been affected by the fire.
What isn’t as easy?
Parents “choosing” which of the other schools they’d want their child to attend should SD43 distribute the 220 Hazel students to other elementary schools.
Her language minimizes the complexity of catchment areas and district processes.
And further, her letter fails to mention the disruption such a choice would likely have on families currently within catchment areas for these other schools.
Catchment areas would probably be redrawn, disrupting additional communities, kids and their families.
Port Coquitlam has many green spaces for residents to enjoy — including a 2024 capital project to create a 6.5-km loop in the Mary Hill area.
Invest the money in rebuilding Hazel Trembath where the community, comprised of students and educators of Hazel, the Strong Start program, a daycare, before-and-after-school care programs and nearby residents, came together.
It would be a shame to lose this opportunity to rebuild Hazel Trembath — as Tanya Nicoll, creator of the petition, wrote, “the hub and heart of our close-knit Mary Hill community.”
- Danielle Redhead, Port Coquitlam
