Arthur L. Bristol Dependents School History
Opened: 1957
Closed: 1994
The Arthur L. Bristol School was opened in 1957. The school had students in grades one through twelve. The school mascot was the bulldogs.
According to the 1960 yearbook, there were six seniors, fourteen juniors, twenty sophomores and nineteen freshmen. The seventh and eighth grade had two sections of students. In the elementary school there were two classes at each grade level, one through six. The newspaper was now called Northern Light and the school published a literary magazine. The yearbook was the Bristol Defender which was later shorten to just Defender. Extracurricular activities included American Red Cross clubs for elementary and secondary students as well as National Honor Society, Student Council, Chess Club and bus monitors program. Boys’ basketball at the varsity and junior varsity level was the only sport program offered. There was an active drama and music program for the elementary students. The sixth grade presented the musical, “The Cobbler of Fairyland” and the fifth grade presented three plays.
A group of volunteer registered nurses provided health services to the school and these services were later provided by the military.
The school enrollment remained basically the same for the next several years. For the 1960-61 school year, several additional clubs were added. These included home economics club, dancing club, language club, library club, and science club. Cheerleading and Aquatics were added to the sports offerings. The literary magazine was now called Glacier. Girls participated in Girls Athletic Association program and there was a formal, competitive swim team.
Student-Faculty sports events were a highlight of the 1966-67 school year. Volleyball was added to the sports program. Band and chorus programs were added to the secondary curriculum.
In 1981 the school had grades kindergarten through eight with an enrollment of 102 students. The school was a single-story structure. The building included spacious classrooms, a gymnasium/auditorium, library, reading laboratory, and office spaces. In addition to the full-time teachers, there was a full-time health/physical education teacher, a half time music teacher, a reading teacher and a librarian.