Cloverdale Traditional School will become the subject of its own history lesson later this week.

Cloverdale is marking its 100th year of educating children and will swing open its doors on Friday to welcome back some of the thousands of students who have wandered its hallways over the years.

B次元官网网址淲e would love to see all former students, staff, parents to come and celebrate with us and share their stories,B次元官网网址� said Cloverdale vice-principal Sandra Jost.

The celebration begins with a 9 a.m. assembly in the gym, where staff and students will be joined by dignitaries along with members of the public.

An orchestra made up of 50 Grade 5 students from the schoolB次元官网网址檚 strings program will perform for the guests, and students will sing a special birthday song written just for the occasion.

Following the hour-long assembly, students will return to class while the public is welcome to view the displays in the school gym from 10 to 11 a.m.

B次元官网网址淲e will have displays for each of the decades, with each one looking at things like food, transportation, fashion, music and toys of the time,B次元官网网址� said Jost.

Preparing the displays for the centennial celebration has given students a front-row seat to a history lesson in the making.

B次元官网网址淭he idea of looking back and finding out what life was like 10, 20, 50 years ago B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 kind of exciting to see the kids get interested in that personal history,B次元官网网址� said Jost, who brought a strap into her class to let students see a more painful part of the schoolB次元官网网址檚 history.

B次元官网网址淲e talked about what the strap was and why it was received. Some of them even tried it on themselves and realized, even though they didnB次元官网网址檛 do it very hard, that it was painful.B次元官网网址�

The students and their families will enjoy a family picnic at noon, while the school will be closed to the public from 1-3 p.m. as students view the displays.

The Quadra Street school will reopen to the public at 3 p.m., with an opportunity to visit the various classrooms. Last yearB次元官网网址檚 Grade 5s will be returning to Cloverdale to officially unveil the buddy bench they raised funds for last year.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a place for children who are lonely to go and sit on the bench. That would be an identifier that somebody could come and join them and be a buddy,B次元官网网址� said Jost.

From 6 to 8 p.m. the school will be open to adults only for a wine and cheese reception. There is a charge of $10, which includes a glass of wine and selection of cheese.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a chance for people to reconnect, reminisce and socialize,B次元官网网址� said Jost, who has been in contact with former students going as far back as the 1940s.

B次元官网网址淚 had one gentleman phone who said his mother or grandmother was a student back in the B次元官网网址�20s and asked if we would like her class photos and report cards.B次元官网网址�

Those wishing to attend the reception are asked to RSVP at.