École John Stubbs Memorial School is a K-8

French Immersion French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which students who do not speak French as a first language will receive instruction in French. In most French- immersion schools, students will learn to speak French and learn most subjects ...

school located in the Belmont Park neighbourhood of

Colwood, British Columbia Colwood is a city on Vancouver Island to the southwest of Victoria, capital of British Columbia, Canada. Colwood was incorporated in 1985 and has a population of approximately 19,000 people. Colwood lies within the boundaries of the Greater Vi ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, part of the Western Communities suburbs of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. The school is part of School District 62 Sooke. École John Stubbs Memorial School features an

Elementary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

wing with early

; and a

Middle School Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

wing with both Early and Late

. The school is found within the

Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

PMQ neighbourhood of

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

, bordering

Royal Roads University Royal Roads University (also referred to as RRU or Royal Roads) is a public university with its main campus in Colwood, British Columbia, Canada. The university is located at Hatley Park National Historic Site on Vancouver Island and is the succ ...

. Due to the neighbouring property being owned by the

Department of National Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

, the school is under the jurisdiction of the local Military Police unit. The school's population currently stands at approximately 800 students, but is currently experiencing growth year-to-year.

History of the school's name

John Hamilton Stubbs a naval officer who was captain of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

navy

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

HMCS ''Athabaskan''. (This is not the Canadian academic of the same name.) Ever since he was a boy, he wanted to join the navy. When he was 10 years old, he joined the sea cadets, not knowing that in a few years he would be a Second World War hero. On April 28, 1944, two enemy German boats attacked ''Athabaskan'' and her sister ship . Approximately 10 minutes after the first hit, ''Athabaskan'' was ripped under the water by another torpedo. The weight of the water pouring into ''Athabaskan''s compartments had now dragged her down to the point where she was almost perpendicular. The last men to leave were sliding down her bow into the chilling water. When the sailors were in the water, John Stubbs moved about from float to float offering words of encouragement and telling them to move their arms and legs. Lieutenant-commander Stubbs also told them to sing this navy song: "Roll along, Wavy Navy, roll along Roll along, Wavy Navy, roll along If you must know who we are We're the RCNVR Roll along, Wavy Navy, roll along. Oh we joined for the money and the fun Yes, we joined for the money and the fun But of money there is none And the fun has just begun Roll along, Wavy Navy, roll along." At one point, John Stubbs drifted to within several feet of the ''Haida''s side and shouted his final command, "Get out of here, Haida! E-boats!" At that point, he might have been rescued quite handily, but he elected to stay with the remainder of his company. Ordering the ''Haida'' to safety, Lieutenant-commander John Hamilton Stubbs never thought that they would be defeated so he and his men never gave up.Source: http://www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org/resource_pages/heroes/stubbs.html

References

External links

École John Stubbs Memorial School
Elementary schools in British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-school-stub