History of the School

In the beginning, the present North Lambton Secondary School was known as Forest High School and came into existence in the latter months of 1890. The school staff in that year was comprised of the Principal, Mr. James H. Philp, and two assistant teachers with the student enrolment a little less than one hundred.

Students came to the high school from the surrounding municipalities and were responsible for finding their own transportation. No school buses in those days! Some walked, some came by horse and buggy, some came by train and others boarded in town for five days of the week. Students using the train from Camlachie boarded the train at 6:40 A.M. and the return trip reached Camlachie at 6:20 P.M. Railway transportation brought the Thedford students to school for 10:00 A.M. and got them back home at 5:40 P.M.

The original school had four rooms. In 1927 some remodeling was done and the teaching staff was increased to five. The 1930s saw an increase in enrolment and staff as well as a school addition. The school now included six class­rooms, a science lab, boys shop, a home economics room and a gymnasium.

The night of February 26, 1940 was a memorable date in the history of the school. A fire, which is believed to have started in the boiler room, destroyed the school. The students of the school, numbering 160, were forced to use temporary accommodation for their classes. The temporary quarters were found in the Public Library, Excelsior Bandroom, Eastern Star building, Gospel Hall and the Salvation Army Hall with desks for the temporary quarters borrowed from the Petrolia School Board. Meanwhile the school was restored.

During World War II many students and some teachers joined the Armed Forces. At the conclusion of the war a

significant change took place as the age of the school bus had arrived and the rural students were picked up and driven to school.

By September, 1950, the staff numbered nine teachers and the school had two grade nines, plus one class for each of grades ten, eleven, twelve and thirteen. One of the grade nine classes were taught in one half of the gymna­sium making it apparent that an addition was needed to the school. Also in the 1950-51 term it is interesting to note that the teachers moved from room to room to teach their classes and the students, except for gym and science remained in the same classroom all day. The student enrolment that term was approximately 350 with less than twenty in grade thirteen and one hundred in grade nine.

Since 1950 three additions have been made to the school. The first consisted of two classrooms, two science labs and a gymnasium. The former gymnasium became the cafeteria. The second addition included two more class­rooms and a library. The third addition completed in the spring of 1965 provided three shops, a drafting room, a girls’ occupations room, two science laboratories, a classroom and the medical room. Throughout this period of additional building the school enrolment rose from 350 in 1950 to over 700 in 1968.

Even these additions were not adequate to handle our growing student enrolment and it was necessary to adorn our front lawn with portable classrooms-

The change in the school name? That took place in the middle 1960s. It was changed from Forest District High School to North Lambton Secondary School—a name which is more representative of the area served by this institution of learning.

In 1971 a further addition was commenced and was available for use in the spring of 1972. It included a new double gymnasium, a cafetorium, two science rooms, two regular classrooms and a large open concept area that could handle three to four classes. At the same time the old gymnasium was converted into a new library and provided the school with a much needed resource area. The new addition also included administration offices and guidance counselling rooms.

Although there have been no changes to the physical plant since 1972, N.L.S.S. has not been without improvements and additions to the programs it of­fers.

A very successful instrumental music program was added in the early 1970’s> It has grown in the ensuing years and there are now two music classrooms in the school. The main music room is situated in what was the original gymnasium and later the cafeteria. The music program has produced many fine musicians, as witnessed by the four bands it supports - Senior, Intermediate, Junior and Stage. These bands have provided many evenings of enjoyment to the community over the years, with biannual concerts at the school, in conjunction with the Forest Legion Pipe Band in the earlier years and the Forest Excelsior Band lately. The Senior Band has made year end trips to various locales over the past few years and the highlight of these trips was the one to Vancouver in 1986, where they played at EXPO ’86.

Computers have come of age at N.L.S.S. and where once there were three computers situated in a closet in Room 201 in the oldest part of the school. In order to meet the growing demand for this skill, there are now 2 classrooms com­pletely equipped with the latest in computer technology. Even the school office has become fully computerized. While there are still typewriters on the secretaries’ desks, there are also computer terminals which are hooked up with the main board office in Sarnia. Attendance and report cards are now routinely done by computer.

For the past 7 or 8 years, a Reach for the Top team (later School Reach) has been in existence. From the beginning, it walked away with top honours in Lamb- ton County almost routinely and in 1987 it reached the pinnacle of its success -the provincial championship! Of course, there is hope for a repeat in 1988 and the team is definitely headed that way. A Junior team has now been added so that the record established by the Senior team can be continued.

In the spring of 1987, “'Anne of Green Gables” came to the N.L.S.S. auditorium. This was the first time that a musical had been presented by the students of the school. It followed a full year of hard work with many departments in the school contributing to the final product - a much enjoyed three night run in early May. Congratulations to all involved,

A Theatre Arts program has been added this year and we know that more pro­ductions of the same high calibre will be forthcoming.

Also added in the mid 1980’s was an enrichment program for exceptional students. Here these students are encouraged to work on their own and explore many subject areas not included in the regular program.

Athletics have also undergone changes over the years. Wrestling and curling have been added to the interschool program and there have been both individual and team successes in each. The curling team won the Western Ontario cham­pionships in 1979, 1980, 1981, and competed in 3 provincial championships, placing third each time.

Volleyball has become a major sport at N.L.S.S. with both boys’ and girls’ teams consistently in the top 3 in Lambton County. Highlights in recent years have been the Senior Boys provincial championship in 1985, the Junior Boys Western On­tario championships in 1983 and 1985, and the Junior Girls Western Ontario championship in 1987. The Senior Girls have also done well over the years and won a bronze medal in the 1986 provincial championships.

A Co-op program is also available for students in the school. This allows the students to get practical experience in the working world while still attending school.

This year (1988) also sees the implementation of the P.A.I.R.S. program (Part­ners Active in Resource Sharing). N.L.S.S. is paired with the Forest B.I.A, The programme will provide opportunities for interchanges of ideas and resources bet­ween the two groups.

The N.L.S.S. Science Quiz team is another example of outstanding achieve­ment. It won the Lambton County championship 3 years running (1984. 1985. 1986) and was given the county plaque to keep on a permanent basis, After one year without the championship, the team just recently captured the 1988 Lambton County honours again.

It can be seen from all this that the N.L.S.S. of the eighties is providing its students with opportunities for excellence in a wide variety of pursuits - academic, creative, and athletic.