A number of former students of Port Hope High School have voiced their concerns over the school painting over a number of murals in the hallways of the school.
Former student Cassandra Bartley reached out to Today’s Northumberland concerned with the painting of the murals throughout the school.
For Bartley it wasn’t just a sentimental memory. Bartley finished a mural when her close friend Jaylene Mason died in a collision in August 2016.
Today’s Northumberland received a number of letters from former students about the removal of the murals.
Principal Ron MacDonald stated in a e-mail that as part of the “cycle for school improvement” the halls the hallways and classrooms of Dr. Hawkins and Port Hope High School were scheduled to be painted in June 2020. The work was completed during COVID restrictions at that time.
Below is the process that MacDonald used to help him consider on how to proceed.
“The historical and personal significance of the murals was unknown to me, staff, contractors or facilities,” said MacDonald.
Phase 1 – Classroom Consultation
January 2020 through March 2020, I entered every room in the school. Staff were consulted to determine if there was any art or other wall designs that they did not want painted over. I believed that teachers were in the best position to understand the history and significance of such works. Teachers were to email me with instructions to:
a) Not paint over an item in question along with a picture that would be archived and shared with the contractors so that the item would not be painted over
b) Paint over an item along with a picture to be stored for archival purposes
After the initial consultation, staff were reminded on two further occasions of ‘a’ and ‘b’ above. I received no pictures or instructions to preserve any art or designs for any room by any teachers at either Dr. Hawkins or PHHS.
c) Other considerations – An art teacher with about 20 years’ service at PHHS retired in June 2020. As part of the transition to support the new art teacher, the retiring art teacher cleared out many of the historical works from her room. These pieces can no longer be recovered and no pictures were shared with me.
Phase 2 – Hallways
There were a total of 8 hallway murals for consideration (attached, MS Word document). We consulted with all staff and school council to determine whether the murals should be painted over or left untouched. The process resulted in 3 murals not being painted over and 5 being painted over. Through the consultation process, and average of 88% of respondents agreed that the 5 murals noted should be painted over. Pictures were taken of the 5 murals that were painted over.
Letters sent to Today’s Northumberland concerning the painting of the murals.
Being five, long hours away from home I had no idea about the situation until I read a post on Facebook from a fellow classmate of mine bringing into the light that the school had covered up and hidden away precious memories without consulting any of the involved people. I completely understand that change is a necessary step sometimes, and maybe the school was in need of one from the view of fresh eyes. But the murals that had been covered were not just memories to my classmates or myself, but memories for the community as a whole. When we lost Jaylene it impacted the entire town, not just students and teachers or family members but everyday people that grabbed a coffee from her at work showed up to her funeral. It impacted our entire community and it upsets me to see that the school didn’t even think to send a letter to the artist who finished her work or to her family. They didn’t even think for a second that they would need to explain themselves, and that to me is just inconsiderate and disrespectful to not only the people mourning but to the souls that have passed on. For the school to take away something meaningful to all students past and present just doesn’t make sense to me. I wish there was photos taken of all these amazing pieces to hold on too. I was never exactly proud to be a Spartan but now I’ll never mention it.”
Sierra Mahffy
I’m definitely devastated. We as students worked hard to create some joy and bring colour to the school. We spent a lot of time preparing and working on those murals. I understand that time changes and things run it’s course, but taking down all the murals in the school is a disappointment. My mural was my final exam for art class…I was also the first person to paint a block on the wall in Mrs. Papes class and these took months and months to design and months to paint on our own time. Watching these get covered up is like saying goodbye to the alumni. I would have liked to see pictures taken of these before they were covered up and maybe put somewhere to be remembered. Now future generations won’t see what statements we created and the impact it has or had on others. I just hope that people remember them and keep them in their memories.” Heathor Dawn
“I’m not oblivious to the fact that things change and people move forward. I’m well aware that when you leave highschool things go on without you. But it hurts to see that what was once a home and a safe place to so many students is now just painted white and all efforts and memories are gone. Myself and many of my fellow classmates took pride in our efforts and our pieces that we did over our years at the high school. It was something we looked forward to seeing each day. One of my favorites was my friend Dylan’s mural of the Spartan, it screamed PHHS as it was our mascot. The mural alone took him a year to finish so seeing it just painted over with no phone call for one last photo breaks my heart. I was given the honour of finishing my bestfriend Jaylene Masons mural in 2017. She tragically passed away the year of 2016 and 2017 would of been her graduating year. One of her goals was to finish her piece so she could leave her mark on the school before adventuring to her new challenges after high school. Sadly she didn’t get the chance to fulfill that and I did it for her. My art teacher Mrs. Papp at the time sat with me as i spent countless days, hours finishing this piece, allowing me to ask her what colours work best, painting techniques or just to talk about the good times of Jaylene. We laughed and cried and finally it was finished. That mural was more than just a mural. It was Jaylene’s last mark. Her last piece of art work. It was her memorial. It saddens me to see that its just gone. Like it never existed. I wish a phone call was made so her family and I could of had one last photo with it. It has been five years since Jaylene passed and it still hurts to this day not just to me, but to her family, friends, community and even her fellow Spartans. When something like this happens you can’t just move on and forget. You have to keep the conversation going. Keep their memories alive. I respect the faculty and students past and present of PHHS, but to see everything, years and generations worked so hard to do just gone is soul crushing. Port Hope High School doesn’t feel the same as it once did. I didn’t think so many people would come forward feeling the same regarding this topic but I guess that’s what happens when you live in a small town. I just wish efforts were made to salvage these meaningful pieces wether that be a collage of past work something to show for all the memories and time given to this school.
Cassandra Bartley class of 2017 2018
I went to Port Hope High School from 2013-2017 I had the honour of watching Jaylene Mason start her mural on the art class wall, sadly she passed away in a horrible accident before she was able to finish it. While the entire school and Mason family were grieving the loss of Jaylene, Cassandra Bartley had the honour to finish Jaylene’s mural. Watching Cassandra finish the mural was so hard, everyone was in tears but it was so beautiful to watch her complete Jaylene’s mural that was marked as her memorial mural. I also got to watch as Serena Shaw and Dylan Smith paint the Spartan in the hallway. Sadly Serena passed away in August 2021. Now that a new principal has come in they have decided to paint over these murals, it makes me sick, the fact that they would take something from past students is so disrespectful and very hurtful.
My heart goes out to the families of the ones they’ve lost and all the friends these students once had. The students made their mark on the school. If only we got to see what they would have done with the world.
Unfortunately we’re no longer classy PHHS
Ryleigh Gendron
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
