August 19, 2011 I reprised my role of "Miss Chamberlain" for the Children's Museum at the Nepean Museum.  My pupils, ranging in age from 2 to 10, were adorable.  They had fun dressing up, singing "God Save the Queen", writing on slates, practising their names using ink pens, making paper dolls and thomatropes, and playing hop scotch and skipping outside.

The 1863 Walling map of Nepean indicates a schoolhouse was located across the street from the Anglican Church graveyard in Bells Corners.  Records show it was torn down in 1959.  The Roman Catholic Separate School of S.S. No. 4 Nepean built Our Lady of Peace School on the site.

A log school existed on this site from 1851, replaced by the current building in 1912.  Isaac Pratt, Hattie Seabrook and Pearl Mann all taught there before it closed as a school in 1961, after which students were bused to Bells Corners to have kindergarten, French and gym classes.  The building is now owned by AF Pollution Abatement Systems, Inc.

Winnifred Armour, a former teacher at S.S. No. 8 Nepean, donated this hand bell, circa 1912, to the Nepean Museum.  The bell is made of brass and has a walnut handle, with its clapper cleverly rigged from a nut and a piece of wire.

The Jockvale Heritage School was originally a log structure in 1841.  It became a brick building in 1906.  At times there were 60-70 pupils in eight grades.  All teachers were male until 1857 when the first female was hired.  Even though this was not a separate school, most students were Irish Roman Catholic. S.S. No. 10 Nepean was closed in 1965 as it lacked an auditorium, and instruction in French and music.  Currently, the Lions Club uses the upstairs while the South Nepean Muslim Community uses the downstairs.  Reports from custodial staff indicate the building is haunted.

In 2000, Grade 2 students from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School performed in the musical “Our Country Canada Notre Pays 1900-2000” written and directed by their teacher, Joy Forbes.  This schoolhouse was used for publicity photos.

Some of the oldest families in Greenbank attended this school - Craigs, Henrys, Stapledons, Lenehans, Stinsons, Verneys, Leslies and Knoxes.  An old pot-bellies stove stood in the centre of the romm and students had to trek to the woodshed for fuel.  Some of the teachers were 'used up' by the students, including Miss Davis and Miss Boucher.  Miss Elizabeth Bradley (Scharfe), the most beloved of all, was a deeply religious teacher.  To keep her students on the straight and narrow, she would say to them: "Be sure your sins will find you out".

This school was built in 1886.

S.S. No. 13 Nepean is better known as Merivale Public School.  It has been in existence since 1845 and succeeded two earlier log schools.  In 1859, settlers were so glad John Boyce was a good teacher that they organized a "bee" and erected a log home for him near the school.  The desks, like most desks of the time were built along the walls and the pupils sat with their backs to the centre of the room.  The seats were crude; they were made of basswood-logs split in two.  In the end of each split half-log, two augur holes had been bored, and into them were inserted legs of hardwood.  About 1885, the building above preceded the ‘Stone School’ and burned down.  The teacher was Ned Honeywell, son of Robert Honeywell.  The school closed in 1955 and became an Orange Hall.  It is now a meeting place for the Buddhist Society.

L’école St. Louis n’existe plus maintenant.  L’édifice fût transformé en résidence pour personnes âgées au 1435 rue Larose, sous la gérance de Andy Andras.  Cependant l’école St. Louis revêt une importance particulière dans dévelopement de la paroise St. Bonaventure où de très nombreux paroissiens y ont étudié et grandi.  Monseigneur Routhier a bénit l’école le 8 juin 1918.  Dès la deuxième année, la population a agumentée et ils ont dû ajouter un deuxième étage divisé en quatre salles.  La première enseignante était Mlle Desjardins.  Elle a enseigné 70 élèves avec un salaire de 500.00$ par année.  À partir de 1938, ils ont loué des salles dans l’église St. Bonaventure.  L’école fût démolie en 1945 et remplacée par la nouvelle école St. Bonaventure sur la rue Coldry.