ANGLICAN CENTRAL SCHOOL
Bonavista, Nfld

This is the school which I attended from Kindergarten to Grade Eleven. It was located on Church Street, Bonavista  across from the Anglican Church and next to the United Church. Students from the two smaller Anglican (Church of England) schools in Bayley's Cove and Canaille came to this school when they entered Grade Seven. In the picture above the students are from Grades Seven to Eleven. The two teachers are Mr. Allan Chislett and Mr. Eldred Warren, the principal. The picture was taken in early spring, 1955.

In 1956 the school population of the three schools that made up the Anglican Board of Education in Bonavista was 262 pupils. Back then the method of raising funds to pay off the debt on the new room that had been added in 1953 was a "Cent-A-Meal" campaign. Each member of the Anglican community who had a son or daughter attending school was expected to deposit a cent into a special can each time they ate a meal. The Cent-A-Meal report to the end of February 1957 indicates that a Grand Total of $1684.11 was donated by this method for the previous year. With these contributions the School Board was able to pay off the debt on the Central School and provide an additional temporary class room in the Parish Hall.

The Central School as well as the feeder schools were closed in 1978 when a new school Matthew Elementary opened. At the present time the building which is approximately 122 years old has been renovated and is used as the Bonavista Lions Club.

ANGLICAN CENTRAL SCHOOL - Elementary Students - Spring 1955
Bonavista, Nfld

Thanks to Donna (Durdle) Greene for letting me post the following picture of students in front of the school in Bonavista. I have no idea of the time this picture was taken or the names of the students. Any information would be appreciated.

This is the school where I began my teaching career back in 1959-60. It was a one room school accommodating students from Kindergarten (Primer as it was then called) to Grade Six. After Grade Six the students were bussed to Bonavista to the new Anglican Central High School. The school was used on Sundays and other Holy Days as a chapel. These pictures were taken in December 1959 (the interior photo) and June 1960. The school is still standing and was being used as a leather goods factory until a fire gutted the interior in 1997.

Thanks to Harold Tremblett for the following picture: