As the school year draws to a close, so do the careers of three longtime South Cariboo teachers.
Tom Turner, principal at Mile 108 Elementary School, Karen Johnson from Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School (PSO), and Donna Nivison from 100 Mile House Junior Secondary all retire at the end of June, following many years of teaching.
They’ve each contributed greatly to the education and social development of the many students who came into their classrooms, and of equal importance, each has also given that “something extra” that made school fun and much more than a place of just academic learning.
Nivison, characterized by her white hair, has been the nerve centre of the home economics department at 100 Mile Junior for more than 20 years, but her first teaching job was at Kelly Road Junior Secondary School in Prince George. Fresh out of the University of British Columbia, she took the position and stayed there for two years before moving on to fulfill her dream of seeing the world.
“I put on my backpack with a Canadian flag sewn on and travelled around the world for two years before accepting a job in Vanderhoof on my return,” she says.
The offer came via telegram at Canada House in Athens, Greece.
Nivison worked as a counsellor and home economics teacher at Nechako Valley Secondary School for six years before marrying Colin Nivison, the local conservation officer. The couple moved to 100 Mile House in 1981 when Colin was offered a job here, and at the same time, she was happy to find an opening as a home economics teacher at 100 Mile Junior.
“Although I blushed when principal Nick Watkins said his only concern was, ‘The room will make you pregnant,’ as others before me.”
That first year, the prophecy came true, and Nivison pulled back for 11 years to raise the couple’s two daughters, teaching part time at Forest Grove Elementary School and substitute teaching.
She jumped at the chance to get her old job back at 100 Mile Junior when it later became available. Since then, it’s been almost a rite of passage for students in the district to be taught to sew a pair of pyjama pants and bake cheesy biscuits by Mrs. Nivison.
She has gathered many fond and fulfilling memories along the way, such as running into a former student in the grocery store and hearing about how he’s now creating his own recipes, and having the lab tech girl ask her for her Grade 8 macaroni and cheese recipe while taking a blood sample.
Nivison had not considered retiring until this past March when the announcement of the 100 Mile Junior closure scheduled for the end of this school year was made. Around the same time, she received a letter from the provincial government informing her she could apply for old age pension, although she didn’t feel she was that old.
“So I decided to end where I started, where I have so many wonderful memories. I’ve taught thousands of kids and I think I made a difference.”
Tom Turner, newly graduated from University of Victoria in 1980, headed straight for 100 Mile House when a job came up teaching physical education and record keeping at 100 Mile Junior. He had done many hunting and fishing trips in the area previously with his father and knew it was where he wanted to be.
Turner says he was basically thrown into the job and left to figure it out, but he was fine with it. He’d always wanted to be a teacher.
That same year, he met his future wife, Deb, who also began teaching at the school that same year. Two years later, they were married.
Throughout his career, Turner was responsible for developing and teaching many new courses, which offered hands-on training and unique opportunities for youth.
His first was the Resource Management 9 program in 1981, which included an opportunity for students to paddle the Bowron Lakes chain. He made the trip 26 times with the classes.
“It was just a lot of fun to get them out of school and see a different side of them. They learned a lot about themselves and worked hard.”
He later wrote and developed the Logging and Forestry 11 and 12 program at PSO, with less academically inclined students in mind. The program purchased logging equipment and Ainsworth Lumber Company came on board to help them form a logging operation and hired them on as one of their contractors. Upon graduation, most of the students were immediately scooped up by industry.
Turner and his program were awarded the Reader’s Digest Leadership in Education Award in 1994.
He also developed and taught the Sports and Recreation program and Aviation and Technology at PSO, where he was appointed vice-principal in 1995.
What he enjoyed most was taking his greatest interests, and exploring them with his students and seeing their interest grow.
“I was able to relate to kids in a way that allowed me to be effective.”
Turner was appointed principal at 100 Mile Junior in 2000, and then in 2004, took a year off for cancer treatments. Back to work, he spent one year as principal of the GROW Centre, then was made principal at Mile 108 Elementary.
The new environment gave him a new appreciation for basic learning.
“How do you teach kids the basics of reading and writing? I’d never had to think about it before. It really opened my eyes to good, concrete methods of teaching.”
Turner says he’ll miss working with the students and watching them grow up.
“I think I’ve had a good effect on kids through things not traditional and not in the classroom.”
The next chapter in his life will see him enjoying his passion of flying his Cessna 182. Last year, he acquired his commercial pilot licence and plans to work in the field, doing forest fire patrols and environmental checks for caribou and wolves.
“I’ve been flying for 20 years and I’m not the kind of person to just retire. I’ll always make sure I have something to get up for.”
Teacher Karen Johnson says good-bye to PSO after teaching there for the past 12 years.
Johnson had been wondering earlier if she had the energy to put in another year, but the planned closure of 100 Mile Junior and the new configuration convinced her that now was the time.
“It felt right. It makes room for other people and just makes sense.”
Her career began in Fraser Lake, where she’d gone to tree plant and make money after university graduation.
“When people there found out I had a degree and played volleyball as a national sport, they wanted me to stay.”
She expected to stay for two years, but it turned into six.
The next stop was 100 Mile House and PSO where she felt settled and found the staff to be like family.
Johnson taught Phys. Ed., special education, learning assistance and she also coached sports for the most part. When the leadership program was developed, it became her passion.
“I felt I could make the biggest impact through the program and I’m grateful administration valued it as much as they did. I’ve seen so many leadership programs crumble because there was no support from administration.”
What she’s enjoyed most about teaching is the connection with youth and their energy. She’s always loved teaching and says she’ll miss it.
“When you’re teaching, you feel you really have the possibility of doing something good rather than just what’s on your own personal agenda.”
She won’t be allowing grass to grow under her feet as her to-do list is long. Living on her hobby farm with huge gardens is time-consuming and she also likes to cook everything from scratch.
She and husband, Tom, are outdoors people and she’s looking forward to doing some paddling in remote areas and to satisfy her travel bug. High on the list is a trip to Australia to visit her daughter, Meagan.
An international trip with a humanitarian cause is also a strong possibility, she says.
“I won’t be sad the last day of school. I’ll be busy.”