A preferred new name has been proposed for London’s Lord Roberts French Immersion school following an online poll of its community – just as public board officials mull names for three newly announced elementary schools.
A preferred new name has been proposed for London’s Lord Roberts French Immersion school following an online poll of its community – just as public board officials mull names for three newly announced elementary schools.
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The French immersion school on Princess Avenue near downtown London, long named for the British general, should become Woodfield French Immersion, a nod to its neighborhood and the top pick of community members who voted, a new Thames Valley District school board report states.
Trustees are expected to finalize the new name at a debate on Tuesday.
A raft of schools have undergone name changes in recent years amid a sweeping review of public institutions associated with residential schools and broader concerns over racial injustice.
In March, a new Thames Valley policy was released outlining name changes for schools whose current name “represents a documented legacy of harm, discrimination or inequity,” board chair Beth Mai said at the time.
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Lord Roberts was a British general whose exploits in India, Africa, Afghanistan and Ireland during the 1800s earned him many honors at a time when Britain was at the height of its power. He died in 1914, a year before the London school was built.
Other options for the school’s name were Centre-Ville French Immersion elementary school and Falcon French Immersion elementary school. Families with children attending or expected to attend Lord Roberts could vote, and roughly 60 per cent of the 207 eligible did so.
It will cost about $40,000 to change the name, board officials say.
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Thames Valley trustees will soon also have to decide on the names of three new elementary schools in London and Woodstock.
A school planned in northwest London drew 49 name suggestions, including three that will be considered:
- Northwest public school
- Waagosh Gitigaan elementary school, which means fox field in Anishinaabemowin, an Indigenous language
- White Trillium public school
A school planned in southwest London drew 37 submissions are two are up for consideration:
- Southwest elementary school
- White Pine elementary school
There are three names under consideration for a new school planned in north Woodstock:
- Heritage public school
- North Woodstock public school
- Turtle Island public school
A community poll is being conducted for all three schools from May 29 to June 11.
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As part of a new Indigenous focus on school names, the board’s Indigenous education team reviewed all of the submissions, board officials say.
The board already has given new names to two London elementary schools.
Ryerson elementary school on Waterloo Street was renamed Old North in June 2022.
Trustees voted to change the name of FD Roosevelt elementary school on Second Street to Forest City elementary school in March 2023.
Trustees were presented with an option to rename John A. Macdonald elementary school on Landor Street in London in April 2023, but they rejected the name. It’s not clear if the school named after Canada’s first prime minister will be renamed.
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