The new school under construction (Photo courtesy Garrett Simmons, Lethbridge School Division)

By Justin Goulet

Residents invited to suggest name for new south east Lethbridge school

Feb 27, 2020 | 12:57 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – You can have a hand in naming a new elementary school in Lethbridge.

The Lethbridge School Division Board of Trustees is looking for public suggestions toward the name of a new school being built in the Southbrook area of the city.

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The facility is scheduled to open in September 2021. In addition to providing an idea for a name, residents are asked to write in a reason for the submission.

“It’s a process we’ve done for years,” said division Board Chair Clark Bosch.

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“When we have a new school, we ask the community to provide suggestions to the board for the naming of the school. Our last school was Senator Joyce Fairbairn…so we’re following a very similar if not the same process that we always have.”

Name suggestions can be made online via the Lethbridge School Division’s website. Bosch said there’s no particular theme when it comes to the new name.

“I think the best way to go into these things is wide open, with an open mind. Some of our schools are named for people, some of them are named for geographical areas. We have one named after the wind (Chinook High School), so I think it’s pretty much an open book,” he told LNN.

SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION ON SCHEDULE

Bosch said construction at the school site is on track and is “38 percent complete”.

“That doesn’t tell you a lot but there’s walls up,” he explained.

“When you drive to the site, you can see the gym walls and you can see that it certainly resembles a school. There’s lots more to do, 62 percent apparently, but [it’s] 38 percent done.”

Inside the facility currently under construction (Photo courtesy Garrett Simmons, Lethbridge School Division)

The new school will be for students from kindergarten to grade five.

“It’s much needed. We really need a school on the west side as well, but we are kind of crammed at [the] elementary [level] right now,” Bosch said.

He added that it’s a unique experience for young learners to attend a brand-new school, as well as for teachers and staff.

“I opened up Chinook High School as the principal there. It’s kind of a special thing to be the first kids to inhabit a building and the kids will come from existing areas,” he said.

“It will alleviate some of our transportation situations. Kids who live in that area won’t have to be transported to a school in another area.”

As for the new name of the south east school, Bosch said the division hopes they get as many applications as possible and that there’s “no bad suggestions” for a name.

The deadline for submissions is March 16, 2020 and the decision on the name is expected to be announced at the Board of Trustees meeting on April 28.