VANCOUVER—The evening started at 6 p.m. with guests entering through a “cascading” red tent.That’s according to a 2001 school newsletter from Vancouver’s West Point Grey Academy in which 29-year-old Justin Trudeau, then a teacher, is photographed at an “Arabian Nights” themed gala wearing a turban, with his face, hands and feet painted brown.The private school and its event have been thrust into the spotlight by the bombshell now threatening to derail Trudeau’s re-election bid.The private school is located on an 18-acre lot overlooking the ocean in an affluent Vancouver neighbourhood. The school has yet to answer return requests for comment on the growing scandal. “As the ballroom doors opened, two belly dancers emerged, dancing around the marketplace auction and escorting people into the lavishly decorated ballroom — rich fabrics, glittering trinkets on the table,” the newsletter recounts.There were more than 350 auction items displayed in the foyer and people were eager to start the bidding. There was a master of ceremonies who greeted all the guests. “As the exotic meal was being served, the live auction began with items ranging from the ever-popular parking spots to fabulous vacations,” the newsletter said. “Later on, the music started, and as usual our parents and teachers rose to the occasion by filling the dance floor.”The event wound down by roughly 1 a.m. and raised approximately $160,000, which the newsletter said would benefit the “school life of students in all grades.”Founded by four families in 1996, West Point Grey Academy was envisioned as “a progressive” option for an area that at the time had no other co-ed schools.The school today has 940 students in junior kindergarten to Grade 12 with a ratio of eight students per teacher, according to its website, compared to the average student-teacher ratio for Vancouver public schools of 18 t ...
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