MOOSE JAW — Generations of former students returned to Sacred Heart School on June 14 for one final chance to wander its halls, share stories, and celebrate the place where many made lifelong friends and first learned to read and write.
The South Hill elementary school, which first opened in the mid-1960s, will officially close at the end of this school year. On Saturday, Sacred Heart held a special open house to invite the public back through its doors before students and staff move to the new joint-use Our Lady of Hope school this fall.
“This is the last year that our school will be open, and we wanted to do something to commemorate the occasion. We wanted to give people a chance to bring back some memories and reconnect,” said Jason Fisher, vice principal at Sacred Heart. “It was really a teacher-driven event … and I was shocked at the work that my staff put in and just how they made things come together.”
Classrooms were transformed into memory stations for the day, with photo displays, scrapbooks, and yearbooks set out for guests to explore. Each room featured a memory board where visitors could write about their experiences at the school — many of them spanning decades.
“There were memories people shared like, ‘I was here the first year that this school opened, then my kids went here, and then my grandkids went here,’” Fisher said. “It was great to see so many different generations come together again through our school.”
More than 150 guests passed through the building during the late morning and early afternoon, including alumni, former staff, and families who had sent multiple generations to Sacred Heart. Outside, the celebration continued with a hot dog barbecue, refreshments by Kona Ice, and a collaborative art project that will be displayed at Our Lady of Hope.
A highlight was a 40-minute documentary created by Sacred Heart students, who visited the public library to explore archived news coverage about the school. They filmed interviews with past and current staff, including those preparing to move to the new facility, and edited the entire project themselves.
“It was a great chance for people to reunite,” said Diana Trodd, a kindergarten teacher at Sacred Heart for the past 11 years — and a former student from 1990 to 1999. “There were a lot of classmates who got to reunite with staff and fellow students, and our new staff met with former staff members as well. It has also been a great chance to look through the school (one last time).”
Trodd said the school holds a special place in the hearts of many local families.
“There’s a lot of history that has been in these halls,” she said. “A number of people told me their children and even grandchildren attended here.”
Planning for the new school began several years ago, and Trodd said students were given a chance to share their input. Back in 2020, she and other teachers asked their kindergarten classes what they would like to see in a new school — and those same students are now preparing to attend Our Lady of Hope this fall.
“They wanted big places to work, they liked lying down when they worked, and they loved reading in small spaces or working in the hallway,” Trodd said. “The new school really takes that into account. There are reading nooks, cubby spots, and flexible spaces — it’s built for the students and actually listened to their needs."
As the school year winds down, staff say they’re ready for the move — and are excited about the new opportunities that await.
“I am looking forward to it, and I am especially looking forward to air conditioning,” Trodd concluded with a smile.
