I was in Mr. Addy’s Home Room class in Grade 8. He taught us English, Social Studies and Science, so we spent a lot of time together. To keep us motivated, he told us that if we finished our work early, he would read to us, and he did: two books by John Buchan (Lord Minto, Canada’s G.G. 1898 - 1904), “The Thirty-Nine Steps”, and “Greenmantle”. There were 5 Richard Hannay books, and I found all of them at book fairs over the years and have read them again. I also remember Miss Nichol reading “The Snow Goose”, by Paul Gallico, about the small boat rescue of the armies at Dunkirk. (Grade 10 at NVHS))

Sutherland was so crowded, we had classes in both the library and the cafeteria.

Mr. Benham (grade 9 Science) gave us a test every Friday ( or was it Day 7?). The test covered everything from the beginning of the term, which drilled the information in so well that you had to get over 90 to get a B.

Do you remember the bottle drive to raise money for bleachers at Sutherland? Did the money get used for that purpose? Mr Benham took his car and trailer plus 5 members of his class to the British Properties one evening to collect bottles. We did well, but Mr. Bourdon’s class won the prize for collecting the most.

Mr Addy excelled in table tennis, and Mr Benham in badminton. Were they Provincial champions ? I remember exhibition matches they organized at lunch hour with guys they competed against.

And a question from NVHS

Who taught the in-class part of Driver’s Ed.? Was it the Drafting teacher? I remember when he taught us how to light a cigarette in a moving car: either have your passenger light it for you and pass it over OR, put the cigarette in your mouth and not taking your eyes off the road, bring the lighter to the tip. Fortunately this was not a problem for me, as I’ve never smoked.

Elizabeth (Spouse) Lee

Nice memories Elizabeth! 

The staff at Sutherland were so young, enthusiastic and involved that it made learning a pleasure.  I think we were all blessed at Sutherland, not only to meet each other but also to have such good teachers at a formative time of our lives.  The atmosphere at North Van high was good, but not as enthusiastic.

Mr. Benham was my favourite teacher.  I remember his printed notes on the board – so neat and organized with titles and indented subtitles.  I remember that he printed in only upper case letters with a larger font representing a capital letter at the start of a sentence.  I often copy that style when I want clarity. He was very organized.  

I especially appreciated him because he taught us to solve problems. He did not give us answers. He gave us hints and encouraged us to come up with the solution.  And when classes were over, he taught the badminton club.

He later took his own life.  I have never been able to figure out why such a talented person would do that.

Yes, Mr. Benham was an excellent teacher. His wife was our school nurse. My understanding was that he was discovered to have a brain tumor and made his choice as to how to deal with it.

I recall Miss Carlson our art teacher who encouraged me to "colour outside the lines!" And not to be boxed in by convention. She freed me up. That was just the opposite advice than that of my Grade 2 teacher who chided me for drawing a house with a pink roof!