A History of Canoe Cove School In 1820 the "South Shore School" was established in Canoe Cove . The early construction of a schoolhouse in the community is an indication that education was a primary concern to the early settlers. The superintendent's report of 1840 described the school as "one of the largest and most commodious on the Island." This comment shows that government officials were fond of big words and redundancy in those days, too. Children generally entered school between seven and eight years of age, and seldom remained past thirteen or fourteen. In fact, it is not long since "school leaving" exams at grade eight were abolished. Attendance was irregular from May to October when children helped on the farm. School started with prayer and reading of the Scriptures and ended in the same manner. Subjects taught included Gaelic, map-reading, orthography,