A fire at Evergreen Terrace apartment complex in Hillside caused widespread damage and displacement of residents. The community responded with an outpouring of support through donations of clothing, household items, furniture, and money. While families work to rebuild their lives after the traumatic event, local organizations like the Quadra Village Community Centre are helping to coordinate relief efforts and connect families with resources and support. The fire has brought out the generous spirit of the local community.

1. By Kelly Greenwell
A
boy wakes to noise and
chaos and when he looks
out the window he sees
his neighbours’ homes in
flames. He hurriedly tries to
wake his family, who, hearing
the panic in his voice, realize
that this is more than a case of
the late night sounds that
occasionally make their way
through Hillside and Quadra.
The scene repeats in a number
of different homes as parents
and siblings attempt to wake
their loved ones, find their pets
and, in some cases, just get out
alive. A woman jumps out of a
second storey window, in a life-
or-death split second decision,
as the two men below try to
break her fall. Photos and
keepsakes burn, toys melt, the
familiar goes up in smoke.
Shock and awe are the
common themes. Several
nights follow in a hotel,
wondering what, after the
initial emergency response,
comes next. Media pushing for
the scoop on what took place
here, hoping to get the inside
story. So many questions…
Why? How come? How did you
escape? How do you feel? What
caused the fire? Who is
responsible? How can the
community help? What do we
need? Offers of help pouring in
as parents and kids wonder
QVCC volunteers gather clothing and household items for those
affected by the fire at Evergreen Terrace (photo provided)
HILLSIDE-QUADRA
NEWS
ALL ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD
Winter 2016 www.hillsidequadranews.com
Scan for
our website.
Quadra and George Jay
update pages 4/5
Latest Neighbourhood
Highlights Page 6
XaXe SŦELIṮḴEL
Daycare Centre Page 8
(continued on page 3)
Hillside Fire Sparks Generous Hearts

2. Page 2 Winter 2016Hillside-Quadra News
Local Business Helps with
Quadra Village Banner Funding
By Jennifer Ferris
T
his spring Quadra Village
c e l e b r a t e d t h e
installation of new
decorative pole banners.
Twenty-one unique designs
were created, based on the
artwork of Grade 4 and 5
students at École Quadra
Elementary as part of the
s c h o o l ’ s c e n t e n n i a l
celebrations in 2014/15. The
banners feature words of
c o m m u n i t y i n
E n g l i s h , F r e n c h a n d
Lekwungen.
Mayor Lisa Helps attended
the celebration event at The
Nook coffee shop and she
helped to hang the final
banner.
Funding for the initial
project was provided by the
City of Victoria and a private
donor. Extra funding will be
needed to cover the cost of
replacing worn banners and
f o r t h e s p r i n g a n d f a l l
installation of summer and
winter banners. We are very
pleased to announce that 100.3
The Q! has donated $600.00,
which will cover the cost of two
installations. The Banner
Committee would like to thank
John Shields of 100.3 The Q! for
facilitating this donation.
100.3 The Q! is a vibrant
rock radio station serving rock
music fans on southern
Vancouver Island.
Shellie Gudgeon and Janice La Couvée stand near one of the
great new banners in Quadra Village (photo provided)
Quadra Village Youth Programs Update
By Tara Skobel
e currently have eight
Wy o u t h p r o g r a m s
r u n n i n g a t t h e
Quadra Village Community
Centre. These include: three
nights of drop-in; family night;
two girls’ groups; a boys’
group; food skills; homework
club; running group; and the
CREW! The running group and
homework club are made
possible by some devoted staff
m e m b e r s a t Q V C C w h o
volunteer their time to ensure
that these programs happen.
Thank you, Corie and Taly, for
y o u r c o m m i t m e n t a n d
dedication to the youth in the
Hillside-Quadra area!
For updated information on
our Youth Programs, please
follow us on Twitter, Facebook
a n d I n s t a g r a m
(@qvcc_youth_programs,
# h e a r t o f t h e v i l l a g e ,
# q v c c y o u t h , # q v c c ) o r
c h e c k o u t o u r w e b s i t e
www.quadravillagecc.com
If you have any questions
about Youth Programs at
Quadra Village Community
Centre, please contact Tara
S k o b e l b y e m a i l a t
tara@quadravillagecc.com or
250 891 4083 (call or text).

3. Winter 2016 Page 3Hillside-Quadra News
(continued from cover)
how they start again.
If you’ve ever experienced
losing everything, you’ll
remember what it was like. If
you had kids, you probably
remember trying to help them
make sense of things, to
attempt to return to normality,
to mourn, to sleep again and (if
the story was all over the local
media) to respond to all the
questions from classmates.
Sometimes rebuilding the
material things takes a back
seat. “I never even thought
about needing a toaster.”
“This is so overwhelming right
now.” “How can I go back after
e v e r y t h i n g t h a t h a s
happened?”
The story of the fire at
Evergreen Terrace has many
diverse chapters. Surviving the
fire. Losing pets. Sudden
displacement. Uncertainty.
Resettling into new homes (at
times imperfect). Reliving the
night it happened. Grieving
lost pets. Assuring your kids.
Assuring yourself. Woven
among these is the chapter
a b o u t a h e a r t - w a r m i n g
community embrace, as people
in the neighbourhood and local
region do all they can to help in
some way.
Supportive agencies such
as Emergency Services,
Mustard Seed and we at the
Quadra Village Community
Centre have literally been
overwhelmed by a flow of
offers of clothes, furniture and
other items. Donations of gift
cards and cash have been
crucial for responding to the
families’ needs in a timely
fashion and to fill the gaps with
respect to the items that have
been given.
It’s remarkable that five of
the seven families affected by
the fire had found other
accommodation within six days
of the fire happening. At the
same time, however, obtaining
just the basics for your home in
that timeframe is enough to
make anyone’s head spin!
Making a list of everything you
need seems like a sensible
approach, but it takes several
tries, over days and even
weeks, before what you have
lost and what you need to
replace starts to come fully into
focus. It’s like one of those
10,000 piece jigsaw puzzles
with too many similar pieces.
Gradually, though, it’s all
coming together for the
f a m i l i e s . W i t h o u t y o u r
heartfelt support and the
willingness to give generously,
the tale of the fire would be a
tale of tragedy. (And, in some
cases, the folks affected had it
pretty tough to begin with.)
Instead, the neighbourhood
and wider community have
brought hope in the wake of
loss, and stability in the wake
of worry and sleeplessness. It
is a privilege to be part of an
agency that connects with such
community generous spirit, to
be part of the lives of the
families as they survive this
traumatic event and find a
positive way forward. As usual,
we couldn’t do it without you!
To find out how you can
help, check out the Quadra
Village Emergency Fund page
o n t h e Q V C C w e b s i t e :
www.quadravillagecc.com/qua
dra-village-emergency-fund
Hillside Fire Sparks Generous Hearts
Check out the “Community Palette: Creating Community on the Cul-de-Sac”
article on our website to learn about some exciting community building that
happened this year! hillsidequadranews.com

4. Page 4 Winter 2016Hillside-Quadra News
By Cheryl Rolston, Vice-
Principal
C
o o l e r w e a t h e r h a s
returned but that hasn’t
s t o p p e d Q u a d r a
students and staff from going
out into the Hillside-Quadra
community.
Our cross-country team had
a successful season. More than
50 Grade 3, 4 and 5 students
p a r t i c i p a t e d a n d m o s t
achieved personal best times in
their runs. The team completed
the season at Beacon Hill Park
with a final race that involved
a l l S c h o o l D i s t r i c t 6 1
elementary schools. Way to go
runners!
O u r c l a s s e s a r e n o w
participating in the “Great
Bulb Extravaganza”, which
involves classes going outside
everyday to plant bulbs around
the school grounds. We look
forward to seeing 1,200 new
flowers popping up in the New
Year. So, when spring arrives,
be sure to take a walk past the
Quadra Elementary school
g r o u n d s a n d e n j o y t h e
colourful blooms.
I n O c t o b e r, Q u a d r a
students were pleased to
accept an invitation from
C h a r t w e l l R o s s P l a c e
Retirement residence to
connect with residents. The
residents put on a trick-or-
treating afternoon and joined
the students in some colouring
and enjoying a cup of hot
chocolate. We look forward to
more fun when we return to
Ross Place later this year.
Speaking of trick-or-
treating, our PAC put on a
“ S p o o k- t a c u l a r ” f a m i l y
Hallowe’en dance, complete
with games, music, dancing,
treats, and costumes. We love
seeing all our families come
together to have fun and enjoy
community.
Mrs. Campbell and I were
proud to take part in the
Victoria Police Department
C i v i c Aw a r d C e r e m o n y
honouring teacher Joy Wu for
her brave actions earlier this
year. Ms Wu is a valued
teacher-on-call at Quadra and
we were pleased to see her
acknowledged in this way.
Students and staff came
t o g e t h e r f o r a s o l e m n
Remembrance Day assembly
on November 10th. We paused
this year more than ever to
think of some of our students
who come from Syria and other
countries experiencing war.
We gave thanks that we live in a
nation that has enjoyed peace
for many years.
Quadra School is taking
emergency and earthquake
preparedness very seriously.
This October, we practised new
procedures and did a student-
release in order to assess our
own readiness and provide
feedback to our School
Division. We thank Marketa
Lund, parent volunteer, for
helping us move forward with
our goal to be prepared for any
event.
Mrs. Campbell and I are
pleased to be a part of this
great school community,
creating strong connections
with the larger Hillside-Quadra
community. We look forward
to more great experiences as
the school year continues.
Update from École Quadra School
More than 50 Grade 3, 4 and 5 students participated in the École
Quadra School cross-country team (photo Provided)

5. Winter 2016 Page 5Hillside-Quadra News
By Sunny Jun, Vice-Principal
A community is like a ship;
everyone ought to be
prepared to take the helm.
(Henrik Ibsen)
A
t G e o r g e J a y, w e
continually strive for
excellence in what we
do, and already this school year
our staff has been working
hard, keeping up to date with
professional learning through
a variety of ways. Ai Linh Trinh
organized and hosted a day for
District staff to learn about
r e f u g e e a n d i m m i g r a n t
students and how best to
support them. Some staff
attended a two-day “Super-
Workshop” on Planning for the
Inclusion of All Students
delivered by the Provincial
Outreach Program for Autism
a n d R e l a t e d D i s o r d e r s
(POPARD). On the November
Pro-D day, many of our staff
attended the “Google Apps for
Education Summit” – two full
d a y s o f l e a r n i n g a b o u t
integrating technology into
teaching and learning.
Continuing to build our
professional learning is an
important part of the culture at
George Jay, especially since
our student population is a
growing and increasingly
diverse one. Currently we have
16 divisions, six learning
support teachers, 20 EAGs,
t w o Yo u t h a n d Fa m i l y
C o u n s e l l o r s , t w o p r e p
teachers, a School Counsellor,
an Occupational Therapist, a
Physical Therapist, a Speech
and Language Therapist, and
more.
As our student population
grows, so does our interaction
with the community. Thanks to
the dedicated members of the
PAC, George Jay has many
v o l u n t e e r s f r o m t h e
community who work with our
students to mentor them, share
skills, and provide time and
resources. Our “Welcome
B B Q ” w a s g e n e r o u s l y
supported by the Optimists
Club, Thrifty Foods, Fat
Daddy’s Catering, Welburns,
and the Wholesale Club. We
continue to have volunteers
who serve hot breakfast for the
students, help to organize the
s c h o o l l i b r a r y, m e n t o r
students, read with students,
provide lice checks, and
o r g a n i z e t h e u p c o m i n g
December Emporium.
On November 12th, I got a
first hand experience of how
our staff continues to reach out
to the community to benefit
students of Greater Victoria in
general, and not just those who
attend George Jay. Victoria
Coats for Kids Association is an
endeavour that Leila Durzy
(Youth and Family Counsellor),
Cathy Carter (Educational
Assistant), and Sue McTavish
(Youth and Family Counsellor)
take on outside of their regular
jobs at our school to provide
winter coats for kids across the
city. The Victoria Coats for Kids
Association is a registered non-
profit society that has been
operating in the Greater
Victoria for 21 years. Many
children benefit from this
program each year. Initiatives
such as this demonstrate that
George Jay Elementary is not
simply a building that children
attend from Monday to Friday,
but a school community that
reaches beyond the school
g r o u n d s . S c h o o l a n d
community involvement
fosters partnerships between
family, community groups and
students. These partnerships
help to maximize and share
resources, which in turn
benefits our students and the
community they live in.
Coming together is a
beginning; keeping together
is progress; working together
is success. (Henry Ford.)
Acting Chief Constable Del
Manak and Ms Wu as she
accepts her Civic Service
Award (photo provided)
Update from George Jay Elementary

6. Winter 2016Hillside-Quadra NewsPage 6
Submitted by Janis La Couvée,
on behalf of the Hillside-
Quadra Neighbourhood Action
Committee
S
ince the last HQ News,
the Hillside-Quadra
Neighbourhood Action
Committee has been busy with
many issues and City of
Victoria processes.
Topaz Park Improvement
Plan: After a decision to
remove the Topaz Park Tennis
Courts in May 2016 resulted in
some community resistance,
the plan was put on hold to
solicit more feedback from
residents. As a result of this
feedback, City of Victoria
Director of Parks, Recreation
a n d Fa c i l i t i e s , T h o m a s
Soulliere, brought a proposal
for a Topaz Park Improvement
P l a n ( s o m e t h i n g t h e
community has advocated for
many years, particularly in
light of the highly successful
Summit Park Management
Plan engagement process) to
Mayor and Council in late
September. The tennis courts
have been removed and the
area grassed in, awaiting
further feedback from the
community as to the best use
for the space. HQ-NAC is
a w a i t i n g f u r t h e r
communications with the Parks
D e p a r t m e n t r e g a r d i n g
community involvement for the
Topaz Park Improvement Plan.
Stay tuned for more details.
Visual Victoria: Public
Realm and Wayfinding:
Launched in mid-2016, Visual
Victoria is a re-imagining of
Victoria’s public spaces
(particularly in the downtown
core) and improvements to
wayfinding (knowing where
you are, where you want to go,
and the best route to get
there). The project team has a
small office in CityStudio
Victoria (742 Johnson) where
citizens can pop in for more
information. A first round of
c o n s u l t a t i o n ( a t w h i c h
members of the HQ-NAC
participated) was unveiled at a
Public Workshop on November
30.
In Hillside-Quadra, Quadra
Village provides an excellent
example of public realm
improvements, completed in
2006 after eight years of effort
on the part of residents and
businesses working with the
City of Victoria, provincial
Ministry of Transportation and
Highways and ICBC.
Over the next three years
the City of Victoria will budget
$300,000 ($100,000 in each
y e a r ) t o w a y fi n d i n g
improvements. Do you have
s u g g e s t i o n s f o r o u r
neighbourhood? Please send
t h e m a l o n g t o
nag@quadravillagecc.com. If
you would like to learn more
about Visual Victoria visit
http://victoria.ca/visualvictoria
Parks Master Plan:
Several events in the planning
process were scheduled for
November with a Pop-Up Park
and Open House in Centennial
S q u a r e , f o l l o w e d b y a
Community Workshop. Read
more about the draft vision,
g o a l s a n d a c t i o n s a t
http://www.victoria.ca/EN/mai
n/departments/parks-rec-
culture/parks/plan-grow-
play.html
Email any feedback about
the Parks Master Plan to
engage@victoria.ca
C A LU C R e v i e w : T h e
H i l l s i d e - Q u a d r a
N e i g h b o u r h o o d A c t i o n
Committee is the City of
Victoria- recognized land use
committee for the Hillside-
Quadra Neighbourhood. All of
the city’s neighbourhoods
participate in a land use
process for developments—the
C A L U C ( C o m m u n i t y
A s s o c i a t i o n L a n d U s e
Committee) process.
One of the main roles of the
CALUC is to facilitate the
dialogue between applicants
and the community in order to
identify and resolve issues
Hillside-Quadra
Neighbourhood Action Committee
Hillside-Quadra
Neighbourhood Action
Committee is a group
of volunteers that
works on issues related
to land use,
transportation, and
parks in our
neighbourhood.
(continued next page)

7. Neighbourhood Action
Committee Continued
Winter 2016 Page 7Hillside-Quadra News
Meet the news team
Co-Editors:
Tracy Byrne
Rowena Locklin
Assistant Editor:
Helen Cowley
Design & Layout:
Teresa Cowley
Committee Members:
Kelly Greenwell
The Hillside-Quadra
News is a forum and
information source
about projects, issues,
meetings, events,
history and people in
Hillside-Quadra and
surrounding area.
Hillside-Quadra News
is produced through
Quadra Village
Community Centre.
hillsidequadranews.com
hqnewseditors@gmail.com
facebook.com/ILoveQV
The deadline for
the next issue of
the HQ News is
Sunday,
November 6 2016.
Scan for
our website.
r e g a r d i n g l a n d u s e
applications. This process
determines how developers
notify and meet with the
community about a proposed
development and how the
community provides feedback
to the City of Victoria (staff and
elected officials).
Earlier this year, city
council tasked staff with
reviewing this process with the
land use committees. Land use
committees and staff have
been meeting regularly and a
report will be provided soon to
council.
The former chair of the
H i l l s i d e - Q u a d r a
N e i g h b o u r h o o d A c t i o n
Committee, Doug Rhodes, was
on the initial committee
involved in the drafting of the
CALUC process in 2005, and
members of the HQ-NAC are
committed to ensuring it
r e m a i n s r e l e v a n t a n d
responsive to the needs of the
community and developers.
H o w Y o u C a n G e t
Involved: One of the best ways
to be involved is to attend one
of the monthly NAC meetings –
upcoming Monday, January 9
at 7pm and at the Quadra
Village Community Centre.
If you are unable to attend a
meeting and would like to
know more or be involved in
any neighbourhood land use or
transportation matters, please
contact NAC via e-mail. NAC is
currently recruiting volunteers
to help with community
meetings held as part of the
rezoning process. If you’re
interested in land use issues,
and can help out on an
occasional basis, we’d love to
hear from you.
Contact:
NAG@quadravillagecc.com or
http://www.quadravillagecc.co
m / h i l l s i d e - q u a d r a -
n e i g h b o u r h o o d - a c t i o n -
committee
T h e H i l l s i d e Q u a d r a
N e i g h b o u r h o o d A c t i o n
Committee (NAC) is a sub-
committee of the Downtown
Blanshard Advisory Committee
(DBAC) (the not-for-profit that
is our neighbourhood’s
Community Association and
runs the Quadra Village
Community Centre) and is
comprised of a group of
volunteers that works on
issues related to land use,
transportation, and parks in
our neighbourhood. Anyone
with a connection to our
neighbourhood is welcome to
come to meetings or join our
email list. We meet at the
Quadra Village Community
Centre at 7:00 PM the first
Monday of each month from
September to June, except we
meet on the second Monday
when the first Monday is a
holiday.
Email List: The HQ-NAC
maintains an e-mail list and
sends out regular updates. If
you would like to subscribe to
t h i s l i s t , p l e a s e e m a i l
nag@quadravillagecc.com
with SUBSCRIBE TO LIST in
the subject heading.

8. Winter 2016 Page 8Hillside-Quadra News
New Daycare Centre Provides Culturally
Appropriate Programs for Preschoolers
By Joanne Alexander,
Family Navigator
X
a X e S Ŧ E L I Ṯ Ḵ E L
Daycare Centre would
like to acknowledge we
are on the shared traditional
lands of the Kw Xwsepsum
(Esquimalt) and Lekwungen
(Songhees) families. We
acknowledge the ancestors
and raise our hands to give
thanks for welcoming us in to
live, work, and learn within
their ancestral lands.
We are pleased to announce
that XaXe SŦELIṮḴEL Daycare
Centre opened its doors on
September 6, 2016. We
celebrated our Grand Opening
on October 26, 2016. We were
honoured to have the grand
opening blessed with a
traditional ceremony lead by
Chief Andy Thomas and his
wife Mary-Anne.
XaXe SŦELIṮḴEL Daycare,
which means “sacred and
precious” in the Sencoten
language, recognizes that
children are gifts from the
Creator and that these
youngsters will be our future
l e a d e r s . X a X e
SŦELIṮḴEL ̵ Daycare Centre
programs offer a culturally
appropriate space for children
of all Nations to grow and
identify with their Aboriginal
roots. Our Centre provides a
“hands on” approach to
learning and programs are
designed to enhance children’s
creativity, interdependence,
independence and self-
expression. Members of staff at
XaXe SŦELIṮḴEL Daycare
encourage children to think for
themselves, make decisions
and work towards positive
o u t c o m e s . T h e y a l s o
acknowledge that each child is
unique and they work with the
child’s own patterns of social,
emotional, spiritual and
physical development, giving
each child the opportunity for
success in the academic world.
The Aboriginal Head Start
Association of BC and XaXe
SŦELIṮḴEL Daycare have
partnered together and the
daycare will run a satellite
Aboriginal Head Start program
with the main office in Duncan,
BC. Our program will consist
o f t h e s a m e s i x c o r e
components incorporated by
the Aboriginal Head Start
Association of BC: Culture and
Language; Education; Health;
Nutrition; Social Support; and
Parent Involvement.
The core components will
be highly influenced by the
Parent Advisory Council (PAC).
The PAC is in its infancy but we
look forward to parents’
involvement and to working
with all the families involved in
the centre. Members of staff
feel very hopeful about what
the future holds for the
D a y c a r e C e n t r e . T h e
involvement of the PAC has
been strong and very well
received by the families.
As the Centre staff and
families start to settle into our
new home, we look forward to
bringing in wisdom keepers
and storytellers, and to
participating in cultural
a c t i v i t i e s w i t h i n t h e
community. We were fortunate
to be able to take our group of
three to five year olds to
Goldstream Park recently to
see and to learn about the
Salmon Run. This is the first of
many cultural activities the
children will experience.
The Daycare is equipped to
entertain 50 three to five year
olds and 12 infant toddlers.
Currently, our infant toddler
room is full and we are in the
process of filling our three to
five year old spaces. If you
would like more information
about our daycare, please feel
free to contact us at 250-384-
3211 ext. 2401.
Families on the way to the
XaXe SŦELIṮḴEL Daycare
Centre (photo provided)