Latest news with #GrandRiverPublicSchool
CTV News
28-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
New elementary school will officially be named ‘Grand River Public School' in Fergus, Ont.
The Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) approved a name for a new elementary school opening north of Guelph, in time for the next school year. The school, set to open in Fergus, Ont. in September, will officially be called Grand River Public School. The UGDSB had a committee formed and created an online survey for name suggestions as part of the process. They said they received more than 500 submissions for name ideas from the public. Community members were then invited to a virtual town hall to rank their favourites from the list, where the name Grand River Public School came out on top. The new school will open on Kirvan Street and Elliott Avenue East in the Storybrook Subdivision.
Hamilton Spectator
02-05-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
School board reveals names for new Caledonia, Brantford schools
A trailblazer in education and a waterway synonymous with Haldimand County and Six Nations of the Grand River have inspired the names of two public elementary schools currently under construction in the Grand Erie District School Board. Grand River Public School is set to open this September in a newer subdivision on the edge of Caledonia. Students, school board officials and politicians took part in a ceremonial groundbreaking in Caledonia in May 2024 to mark the start of construction on the new joint-use facility. The $33-million elementary school and 49-space child-care centre at the corner of MacLachlan Avenue and Whithorn Crescent is a joint project between Grand Erie and the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board. The Catholic half of the 76,000-square-foot complex will be named Pope Francis Catholic Elementary School and welcome 305 students this fall, while Grand River Public School will have space for approximately 440 pupils. The new building will alleviate enrolment pressure at nearby schools in both boards, school officials say. In a media release, superintendent of education Julie White noted the Grand River was a recurring theme in school names suggested by the community. The river traverses the region and 'holds tremendous ecological and cultural significance in this region,' White said, as it forms the backbone of the Haldimand Tract, territory granted to the Haudenosaunee under the Haldimand Proclamation of 1784. 'By naming the school after the Grand River, the board aligns with these rich educational opportunities and encourages students to explore and appreciate this important watershed,' she said. In Brantford, a school scheduled to open in September 2026 will pay tribute to Blanche E. Williams, a Brantford resident who made headlines in the 1880s for being one of the first Black women in Canada to study at university with the same privileges as white students. 'With education as the path to transformation, Blanche Williams interrupted racial barriers and showed us what's possible,' superintendent of education Liana Thompson said of Williams, an alumna of Brantford Collegiate Institute. 'Her story inspires all of us to be courageous (and) strong and to persevere to achieve our dreams,' Thompson said. The $34-million Blanche E. Williams Public School is currently under construction at Shellard Lane and Strickland Avenue in West Brant. The names for both schools came out of a public consultation process. Trustees finalized the names at the April 28 school board meeting.
