Humans of Ashbury College
362 Mariposa Avenue K1M 0T3 Ottawa, ON, Canada

Duncan Mactavish went to Ashbury between 1958 and 1966. He started his Ashbury career in grade 6 and graduated in grade 13. In his final year, Mr. Mactavish attended boarding. His full story will be shared within the next few days so be sure to stay tuned!!

Charlie Maclaren was a boarder at Ashbury from 1966-1971. Before Charlie, his father and other relatives attended Ashbury as well. This is a small story he shared with us during the interview. "As a boarder in Ashbury, what would you have done on weekends?" "Anytime you left the school grounds, you had to be in number 1 dress. So that meant grey pants, white shirt, school tie and a blazer. If you wanted to go downtown on a Saturday, you went off in number 1 dress. In later years, you could wear jeans around the school property."

"What were teachers like during your time at Ashbury?" "They were characters. They were obviously very good in the areas they taught, I can assure you of that. But they didn't necessarily have the qualifications. I'm not saying they didn't go to high-level colleges or universities, but perhaps the qualifications were not to the same extent as now to allow you to teach in institutions like Ashbury. The level of teaching from the standpoint of learning has far improved since the '50s."

Humans of Ashbury was asked by the Ashbury 125 committee to showcase how Ashbury has changed over the years. We asked past Ashbury students to share their experience in their time at Ashbury, to see how our school was compared to today. Bruce Hillary (left) attended Ashbury between 1954 and 1957. His full story will be shared soon, so make sure to stay tuned!

"Black history month is important because it keeps stories of the past alive."

"Black history month is important. It's a very good initiative. But in my view, it's not something we think about in 6 months. In 6 months, we will forget all about it and we don't really talk about it. Then when January comes around, we talk about it again, and then black history month comes. I think there needs to be more discussion about the importance of Black History outside of February."

"What is the significance of Black History month to you?" "It's a time of reflection about those who suffered. Like, in our history class, we never really learned much about it until this year. It's like there isn't a very big importance towards black history. This month is important to show that."

HOAC IS BACK! First off, happy new year to everyone and we hope everyone did well on the Midyears! We're introducing 2 new projects this month which are Black History Month and Ashbury 125! Stay tuned :D

For the past few weeks, Jon has had so much support from the Ashbury Community, and his progress continues to positively improve! Huge thank you to everyone who showed their support and we hope you are getting better Jon! Happy Holidays and a happy New Year :D

"I don't know if I can exactly pinpoint my favourite memory with Jon. You see we've been friends since fourth grade and for a whole year we were in the same TAG! (Lol) He's always able to put a smile on my face, he has a good sense of humour. Jon, I hope you are feeling better and just thinking about the fun memories that we've had like our boat crew because I can't wait to make new ones."

"If you're going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill

"Jons been a good friend of mine ever since I met him in grade 4. If someone were to ask me to describe Jon, I'd tell them to grab a seat right away, because there's too many good things I could say. Jons smart, funny, and someone that anyone could call a friend. But what separates Jon from most people is that he's one of the most caring individuals you will ever meet. I wish him the best with his recovery and can't wait to get him back out on the soccer pitch."

"Everyone's been talking about jon and soccer. That's a great part of who he is but more importantly is just how nice he is. Jons the type of guy to have an Omegle conversation with another guy and ask him how his day went. So kind"