Connaught Public School 100th Anniversary Celebration

Connaught Public School is celebrating its 100

th

anniversary with a community celebration.  The school was named in honour of the Duke of Connaught, a former governor-general of Canada.  The event is scheduled for this Thursday, May 7

th

commencing at 5:30 in the evening.  The school is located at 1149 Gladstone Avenue.

Present day and former students and staff will commemorate the fact that for over 100 years, there has been a school on this site. The construction of the originalConnaught building was completed in 1914. The school was officially opened on February 9th 2015 by the Governor-General, the Duke of Connaught.

The school is built around an art deco “tree”. When the new school opened, students contributed to a time capsule which will be opened this year. At the time, this was the largest school built by the Board (16 rooms).  Additions were made to the school in 1931 and again in 1949. There were also some renovations made to the school library in 1971. Throughout most of its history, the school is believed to have run under a Kindergarten – Grade 8 model. At one time the school housed 815 students.

Today there are approximately 320 students representing over 20 different countries and languages. School Principal, Amy Hannah says, “The school community is enriched by its diverse ethno-cultural and multilingual student population. Many students speak a language other than English in their homes. These include Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Arabic, Somali, Russian, Croatian and many others.”

A study was conducted in the early 1990s and it was determined that rebuilding the school would be more cost-effective than renovating the original structure. The current Connaught Public School was opened in the fall of 1994, offering a Junior Kindergarten -Grade 6 English program with 299 students in that year.  In September 2014, the school introduced the EFI program and had an enrolment of 320 students as of October 31, 2014.

Ms. Hannah added, “Our school policy states our commitment to ensure that Connaught Public School is a welcoming, caring and supportive school, a place where all children have the opportunity to reach their potential in language, literacy, and problem solving. It is a safe place where the 4Rs are practiced; Respect, Responsibility, Relationships and Recognition.”

Connaught Public School will be open to the community to celebrate the 100

th

Anniversary on Thursday, May 7

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from

5:30

-8:00 p.m.  The media are also welcome to attend.