New high school classroom gets more Revelstoke students learning outdoors

School district's $300,000 project adds gazebo-style space with "Indigenous theme"

New high school classroom gets more Revelstoke students learning outdoors Published 7:11 pm Wednesday, July 15, 2026 An eye-catching new outdoor classroom for Revelstoke’s high school, inspired by Indigenous building designs in other school districts, has swiftly emerged in recent months to enhance student learning. Seeking an exterior, open-concept learning space for Revelstoke Secondary School (RSS) like what local elementary schools enjoy, School District 19 (SD19) initially wanted to build this structure as a roofing extension on a patch of grass next to the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre.

Though that option became unfeasible due to space constraints, the Ministry of Education agreed to provide funding for an alternative $300,000 project when SD19 devised a plan to construct a covered outdoor classroom in the field behind RSS. The gazebo-like wooden structure — circular with a dome-shaped shingled roof, support posts and bench seating lining the perimeter — was completed by April and used in May and June for RSS programming such as woodworking and outdoor education. “There’s so many different ways to stimulate the senses,” SD19 secretary treasurer Bruce Tisdale told Black Press Media, remarking on the educational value of giving students opportunities to learn outdoors.

Tisdale, who previously served School District 58 in the Nicola-Similkameen region, was personally inspired by Indigenous-style outdoor classrooms he saw in communities such as Merritt and Kamloops, as well as Enderby. Bringing that inspiration to Revelstoke, he said those design concepts helped guide the style of RSS’s newest learning space — an outdoor classroom “with an Indigenous theme” and rustic style without walls, lights or emergency sprinklers. SD19 superintendent Roberta Kubik celebrated the addition of this new space for secondary school students, in step with outdoor structures already in place for learners at Columbia Park, Begbie View and Arrow Heights elementary schools.

“It’s very similar to what the elementary schools already have, just larger,” Tisdale added. The RSS outdoor classroom will resume use in September when school returns.