Sixty years ago, students in Harrison Hot Springs said goodbye to one little school, and hello to a brand new one.

And now, all these years later, students at that once-new school are hoping to capture the time in between, with photographs and stories.

All next week, Harrison Hot Springs elementary school will be celebrating the history of their school.

It will start on Monday, when librarian Terrill Scott will come into the school and speak about life in the '40s, '50s and so on. She'll return to the school on Tuesday.

And on Wednesday afternoon, the kids will be treated to a real live sock hop, says principal Mark Classen.

Thursday afternoon is "nickleodeon" day, and for five cents the students will have their choice of old movies to watch, throughout the school.

It all culminates on Friday, when the community is invited to join in the celebration at the school.

Al Fraser, who is now chair of the school district, will be attending. He was a principal at Bear Creek School for years, and was a principal and teacher at Harrison Hot Springs elementary in the 1960s. Also attending on Friday will be Merle McDiarmid, who was the school's secretary for 30 years.

Classen says they are hoping that anyone who went to the school will come out to their assembly.

But what they're really wanting is to collect older photographs, such as the ones seen on this page. The students are archiving the photographs online and eventually creating a book of the photos, along with stories they'll write based on interviews with past students.

It's a big project, Classen says, and one that will bridge the students with the community while teaching them about the past.

"It will also give a voice to our elders in our community," he says.

They've collected a few photos so far, and those are already available for viewing on the website (http://gallery.me.com/hhshistorica). The website is constantly growing, he says, as the photographs arrive at the school. They can be sent in digitally or brought into the school where they will be scanned and returned their owners.

Eventually, the books will be available to the public and will be given to the Village, library and museum for sharing with the community.

Classen knows it will be difficult to collect candid shots. Something the students are learning through this process is that not everyone carried around a camera in those days.

The actual date of the 60th birthday is November 18, and the school was opened in 1949. Before the school was in that location, it was on the site where Ian's Grill now sits.

Classen says the original school built 60 years ago can still be seen within its new surroundings.

"It's been added to, and renovated, but the original building is still there," he says. "It's the same structure you can see in the old photographs," with the addition of rooms around it, and updates to the walls, floors and ceiling.

If you have photographs you would like to share for this project, contact the school at 604-796-2838.

Mark classen, principal