As many students began their school year on Tuesday, some schools opened their doors for the very first time. Waterloo Region For the first time ever, the Waterloo Region Catholic District School Board and Waterloo Region District School Board welcomed students to the same property. The joint campus on Wesley Boulevard has space for 519 Kindergarten to Grade 8 students on the public side, known as Giinawind Public School, and 360 students on the Catholic side, known as Guardian Angels Catholic School. Both boards said by working together, they’re able to better serve the growing community. “Guardian Angels reflects what collaboration and community can achieve, opening as a joint venture with the Waterloo Region District School Board to serve a growing Cambridge community,” Annalisa Varano, Director of Education and CEO, WCDSB said in an emailed statement. “As we welcome students back across all of our schools this year, we are grateful for this new beginning and excited for everything the year ahead will hold,” the statement continued. Meanwhile, the public school board called the move “especially exciting”. “We are proud of what can be accomplished when we work together to better serve students, parents, families, caregivers and growing communities,” Scott Miller, Chief Executive Officer, WRDSB said in an email statement. Both school boards turned to the communities they serve to help name the new locations. The public board said Giinawind is derived from an Ojibwe word meaning “us, including you.” The Catholic board said their name reflects themes of protection, guidance and care. Elsewhere, a new school in Kitchener also welcomed students. Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School on Woolner Trail has space for 1,400 students from Grade 7 to Grade 10. There are plans to add Grade 11 and Grade 12 students as the school grows. “Notre Dame is also the first new secondary school built in our region since 2006, a milestone that reflects just how much our community has grown and continues to grow,” Varano said. “This building was designed with that growth in mind, and we hop it will help meet the needs of families here for generations to come.” Guelph For the first time in almost 60 years, a new public high school opened in Guelph. Approximately 420 Grade 9 and Grade 10 students will be studying at Two Rivers Secondary School on Arkell Road. Principal Damon Ealey told CTV News most of the students who walked through the doors on Tuesday live within a 3.5 km radius of the new building. Brantford The Grand Erie District School board held a grand opening for their latest facility, Blanche E. Williams Public School. Williams was a Brantford resident who was one of the first Black women in Canada to attend university with the same privileges as white students. In the 1880s, she went to a school that is now known as the Brantford Collegiate Institute and Vocation School before she headed to the University of Toronto. “With education as the path to transformation, Blanche Williams interrupted racial barriers and showed us what’s possible,” Liana Thompson, Grand Erie District School Board’s superintendent of education, said in an April news release. “Naming our school after her is a celebration not only of her groundbreaking achievements, but her story inspires all of us to be courageous, strong and to persevere to achieve our dreams.” The school has space for approximately 600 students from Kindergarten to Grade 8.
