School Visits: A Place in History

Where do you go to learn about:

A building older than the Legislature?
Victoria's first Roman Catholic cathedral and girls school?
A site that was originally waterfront property?

St. Ann's Academy and the Story of Victoria

History of site
A former Catholic girls school, renovated and restored between 1995 and 1997 by the province of British Columbia, St. Ann's Academy was opened to the public as a national heritage site in 1997. Heritage buildings and historic sites offer a direct physical link with the past of a community. The early history of Victoria is reflected in the growth and expansion of the buildings and grounds of St. Ann's Academy.

Description of Program
Recommended for: Grades 2-3, adaptable for Grades K - 5.

Learning Outcomes
In accordance with the Ministry of Education Social Studies Learning Outcomes (Sept 99), the program includes activities which build and develop skills such as:
-collecting, recording and organizing information gathered from archival photographs, maps and hands-on site exploration describing the changing face of Victoria from First Nation community to Trade Fort and Gold Rush Town, - creating and interpreting simple maps using cardinal direction symbols and simple keys.

In this program, students will re-visit the past through exploring the restored 1858 chapel and Interpretive Centre, and the historic grounds. Activities range from mapping the grounds, to learning about the original construction and renovation. The building's years as a school will be discussed, and children will learn about and try the Chinook language (a trading language used in early Victoria when the Sisters arrived).

After a brief orientation in our historic chapel and a chance to meet former students and teachers on hand, students will be divided into two groups and proceed to various activity stations. A St. Ann's facilitator will be present at each station to guide the activity, and to answer any questions. Each station will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Please allow one and a half hours for your visit. Please feel free to allow extra time for exploring and enjoying our park-like setting as a group before returning to school. Modern washrooms are inside, and areas for eating lunch are available on request.

Activity #1
Students will view historic photos and other archival materials, and learn about the distance the first four Sisters of St. Ann traveled to get to this part of the world. We'll also talk about how the site changed through the years, why it was important to save this historic site, and how this occurred. Students will then participate in a wood graining art activity designed to teach about both the original building techniques and recent restorations.

Activity #2
Students will talk about how Victoria in 1858 differed from the present day , and take part in a tour of the grounds discussing how the land looked originally. The Fur Trade and First Nations involvement in the growth of the town of Victoria will again be discussed, and to illustrate the multicultural nature of fur trade society the students will learn about and try out some phrases in the Chinook language.

Activity #3
This activity will concentrate on the grounds and setting of St. Ann's Academy. Working in groups, students will participate in an outdoor mapping exercise and hands-on exploration of the site, including its wonderful heritage trees and gardens.

Materials supplied: A pre-visit booklet with suggestion for pre-visit activities, photos and information will be sent along at time of booking.

Availability: September through June

Fees: $60 per class (September 2001 - June 2002), $75 per class (September 2002 - June 2003)

Duration: 1 ½ hours

What to wear: One of our activities takes place outdoors and another involves use of poster paint, so please have your students dress accordingly! We have a cloakroom for coats and packs.

Adult Supervisors: We recommend Adult supervisor per 5 students.

Parking is limited: A small pay parking lot is located near the side entrance off Blanshard Street (2 loonies ONLY for 3 hours). Buses should park on the street. Two hour street parking on the perimeter of the grounds is also available.

We look forward to your program. Please call us at 953-8829/8828.
Fax 953-8823, or email: stanns.academy@gems2.gov.bc.ca,
if you have any questions.