As construction continues on a new elementary school in Peterborough’s East City, the public is invited to suggest names for the building.
Ground was broken on the $19.9 million public elementary school in June. The school will house both the student populations of the current King George Public School and Armour Heights Public School as a means to address declining enrolment and rising maintenance costs at both aging buildings.
Scheduled to open in September 2020, the yet-to-be named new school will accommodate more than 670 students from junior kindergarten to Grade 8 (including a French immersion program).
On Tuesday night, trustees with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board approved a joint board/community school naming committee that will welcome suggestions for a name for the new school.
“Board policy favours certain kinds of names,” stated board chairperson Diane Lloyd.
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“We encourage people to submit names that are based on people who have made positive contributions to society; the current or historical areas served by the schools; the street on which the school will be located; and the diversity of the school communities served.”
Lloyd says a committee — which will include trustees, staff, parent, student and community representatives — will then consider the suggestions.
“The committee will then establish a short list of preferred names, and recommend one of those names to the board for approval,” she said.
The last new public school to open in Peterborough was Roger Neilson Public School in 2004 in the city’s south end.
To accommodate construction of the new school, board trustees approved transporting King George students this school year to the former Ridpath Public School in the village of Lakefield.
Ridpath was retired in September 2017 following the opening of Lakefield District Public School.
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