Naming the Chesley
K-12 School
Under board parameters, our group has the following
responsibilities:
The naming of the new combined school must meet with
BWDSB Administrative Procedure 3301-D which states:
Our early focus will need to be on the “area of names to
be chosen from”:
How can schools be named…?
Most research shows there are approximately 9 approaches
for naming a school:
1)Name the school after its methodology (i.e. Montessori)
2)Name the school after its founder
3)Use the name of a local historical or influential person
4)Use the name of a famous Canadian (historical person, hero, change-maker)
5)Name the school for an influential person in the community (if approved)
6)Use the name of the street or subdivision on which the school stands
7)Use the name of the town / community in which the school stands or serves
8)Use a local or regional historical / geographic / geological feature
9)Use the relative location of the school to its area
Before looking at these options, there are several considerations to keep
in mind about naming this school, in addition to the board procedures and
Foundations for Learning document.
Special considerations for the Chesley school in particular:
1)Schools in Chesley have a long history…including a k-12 history…which
many people will want reflected in the new name (though others may want
the new name to show new directions…)
2)Obviously, the name has to be reflective of all grades (i.e. many names
only reflect certain levels: “elementary”, “collegiate” etc. and cannot be
used).
3)The school, though amalgamated as Chesley’s one school, is still one
open to the district’s secondary school students. To promote the
retention of secondary students from Tara, Desboro, Paisley, and
beyond, we will want an inclusive name.
4) A name can make a powerful statement for the community’s values (if
desirable), ambitions, or strengths. This will likely be the last chance to
name a school in Chesley! It should be thoughtfully chosen to cover the
next 50 years. Let us not forget:
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The community fought very hard to keep all levels of school here
Our schools have a rich history of success and high achievement
We want people to see this K-12 school as a model school
Great things can be accomplished by communities and their small
schools
We have many unique qualities and strengths (i.e. high skills’ major,
etc.)
From the main methods of naming schools, which are easiest
to eliminate:
1)Name the school after its methodology (i.e. Montessori)
2)Name the school after its founder
3)Use the name of a local historical or influential person
4)Use the name of a famous Canadian (historical person, hero, change-maker)
5)Name the school for an influential person in the community (if approved)
6)Use the name of the street or subdivision on which the school stands
7)Use the name of the town / community in which the school stands or serves
8)Use a local or regional historical / geographic / geological feature
9)Use the relative location of the school to its area
Schools themselves (in their names) are mostly
referred to as:
•School
•Collegiate
•Academy
•Composite
•Institute
•Prep School
•Vocational
•Private School
•Tech School
•Boarding School
•Finishing School
•Combined School
•Sectarian School
•Seminary
Obviously many of these options do not apply.
Schools themselves (in their names) are mostly
referred to as:
•School
•Collegiate
•Academy
•Composite
•Institute
•Prep School
•Vocational
•Private School
•Tech School
•Boarding School
•Finishing School
•Combined School
•Sectarian School
•Seminary
Obviously many of these options do not apply.
Here are some guiding ideas that might help for each of
the potentially applicable processes or “areas”:
3) Use the name of a local historical or influential
person
Naming the school this way would require choosing a figure that has
historical local significance.
Two examples include:
Ben Davis High School, Indianapolis, Indiana
Rose Point Elementary School, Vancouver, BC
•Those interested in naming the school this way would need to
research other local figures of significance to nominate.
•Some obstacles with this type of name include: a) making sure the
person chosen is known to the community; and b) making sure the
name is important to all the students who come from many small
partner school communities.
4) Use the name of a famous Canadian (historical person,
hero, change-maker)
There are many Canadian people after whom we could name the school.
However, in the US, where this is more common, the practice is waning
because many names are associated with certain politics, and therefore,
cannot be supported by all.
The other pitfalls against this naming procedure include:
•Loss of local identity with a name of someone famous elsewhere in
Canada
•Repetition with other schools bearing name of the same figure
•Risk of famous person not always being seen favourably over time (i.e.
Ben Johnson, or Lance Armstrong)
Some examples of this procedure in existence in Canada include :
Terry Fox Secondary School, Coquitlam, BC
Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School, Toronto, ON
Many more famous Canadians are found here:
http://www.biography.com/people/groups/canadian/all?view=gallery&sort=l
ast-name&page=1#d
5) Name the school for an influential person in the
community (if approved)
This is a practice with a great deal of upside for local pride and focus. The
problems might involve:
•Deciding on criteria that all people in the community agree upon
•Being too exclusive (i.e. choosing a former educator’s name, ruling out
others)
•Naming a person with influence in only 1 of the local communities
This procedure is very similar to number 1—naming the school after a local
person of historical significance.
Some examples include:
Lynn Fripps Elementary School, Langley, BC
Drew Fasey Elementary School, Bay City, MI
7) Use the name of the town / community in which the
school stands or serves
This, of course, is the most common current practice. All of the schools
in Chesley, historically, have done this.
•Chesley Public School
•Chesley Continuation School
•Chesley High School
•Chesley District High School
•Elderslie Central Public School
•Kinghurst Community School
If this procedure has a drawback, it may be in the fact that the naming
isn’t very creative or dynamic.
One potential name for the new school would be Arran-Elderslie. This
would be a good way to unite the communities in the area, and begin to
include Paisley as a logical destination for high school studies.
8) Use a local or regional historical / geographic /
geological feature
This is also another common way to name a school in recent years (i.e.
Spruce Ridge, etc.)
Examples include:
White Pines Collegiate and Vocational School, Sault Saint Marie, ON
Iroquois Ridge High School, Oakville, ON
The question is, what are the regional geographic or geological or historical
features that could be used to describe Chesley, or Arran-Elderslie in general?
9) Use the relative location of the school to its area
Like approach #7, this allows the school name to be inclusive of the larger
community it serves, but also its place in the board more generally.
Examples include:
Peninsula Shores Community School, Wiarton, ON
Amable Sauble Community School, Sauble Beach, ON
This was kind of the idea behind Kinghurst—both a geographical and
historical throw-back.
Timelines
Whichever method you use, please submit your name choice (with rationale
if you choose) at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RXS3FJR. Alternatively,
you can fill out a nomination sheet at schools in Tara, Chesley, Paisley, and
Desboro. You can also find these sheets at Tara Video and Variety, and the
Chesley and Paisley grocery stores.
Your nominations will be accepted between April 15th and May 3rd.
Thank you for your participation.