Pipestone Flyer
Exerpt from previous article: She walked proudly and with a great deal of dignity from her seat in the VIP section of seating in the Griffiths-Scott Middle School to the stage. Upon arrival Mrs. Jean Scott was provided assistance up the steps and confidently adjusted the microphone before beginning her recollections of the history of the Griffiths-Scott Middle School.
“A hearty welcome to everyone present this evening”, were the welcoming remarks by Mrs. Scott. “ I am sure that all of you are as happy as I am to be in attendance at this, the official opening of the new Griffiths-Scott Middle School. This school is equipped with everything required to help the children of Millet and surrounding areas to learn. I am certain that their teachers are equally as pleased and excited to be in this new building. This environment will certainly make the duties of the Principal, Mr. Heinrichs, and his teaching staff easier and more enjoyable. I am sure that the late Mr. Griffiths, were he here today, would be so pleased.”
Mrs. Jean Scott provides a history of
Mr. Percy Griffiths
“Mr. Percy Griffiths was born and raised in England. He and his wife Violet came from England in 1922, and settled at Mannville, Alberta, where they farmed on a Soldier Settlement Farm. Mr. Griffiths had been a member of a Highland Regiment Signal Corps during World War I.
Eventually, Mr. Griffiths gave up farming at Mannville, and took teacher training at Normal School and at University, becoming a High School teacher. In 1934 he and his wife came to Millet where he had been hired to be Principal of the four-classroom Millet School, which had been built in 1930. This school is still in use today.
Millet had a much smaller population in those days, and the school was large enough to educate children from Grades 1 to 12. Mr. Griffiths taught high school in one classroom. This classroom is still present, and is located on the northwest corner of the school.
Millet School also accepted Grade 9- 12 students from the surrounding rural, one-room schools that taught Grades 1-8. Rural High School students enrolled in Mr. Griffiths High School had to find a place in Millet to get room and board. There were no school buses in those days to transport students. My sister Phyllis Cummings and I received our High School education in Mr. Griffith’s one room High School, as we lived in the rural area of Hillside.
The enrolment in the one room High School (grades 10, 11 and 12) was usually between 35 and 40 students. It took four years of High School to obtain a High School Certificate (two years for Grade 12), as Mr. Griffiths did not have time to present all the required subjects in only three years. This was very different than today in a large High School, where often there is one teacher for each subject.
Mr. Griffiths will be remembered always for his quiet and extremely efficient method of teaching, his wry sense of humour, his ability to assume control of any classroom and his tenacity of purpose. As Principal, his teaching staff and students soon realized that regardless of any classroom problem that could arise, or any crisis that might occur that he would, without a doubt, quickly and efficiently present a satisfactory and sensible solution.”
Mr. Griffiths’ wife Violet passed away in 1953 at the age of 55 years. Mr. Griffiths died in 1968 at the age of 73. They are buried in the Millet Cemetery.
Principal, Mr. Frank Heinrichs sums it up
The new Griffiths-Scott Middle School opened its doors to students on September 4, 2012. This new school has a 300 student capacity and is an internationally accredited UNESCO school that supports the positive environmental aspects of a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver building.
This School is a core modular design and includes several features that are new to the school community. The wide open entrance to the school greets you as you enter the facility and adjacent is a multi-functional administrative suite, library, band room and stage area.
Every classroom in the school has been designed for multi-purpose use, and comes fully equipped with a smart board.
Principal Mr. Frank Heinrichs summed it up by saying, “What happens to be good for the students happens to be good for the environment. And what happens to be good for the environment happens to be good for the students. That is what we are really trying to do here with this school.”