The former Ryerson public school finally has a new name.
Thames Valley District School Board trustees voted unanimously Tuesday night to rename the Waterloo Street school Old North public.
The name was the favourite of three pitched to parents of students at the school through a poll conducted in December and early January. The other two names put up for consideration by the board’s name selection committee were Phyllis Webstad public school and Murray Sinclair public school.
Webstad is a residential school survivor from B.C. whose story of having her new orange shirt taken away upon her arrival at the oppressive school led to the creation of Orange Shirt Day. Sinclair is a former Canadian senator and lawyer. He served as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission from 2009 to 2015.
Of the 363 parents and guardians eligible to vote, 214 made a selection with Old North P.S. taking 77 per cent of the vote. Fourteen per cent of those polled selected Phyllis Webstad P.S. and nine per cent wanted Murray Sinclair P.S.
“I want to thank the Ryerson Public School community for their willingness to engage openly with this conversation around the naming of their school,” said trustee Corrine Rahman.
She went on to thank Webstad and Sinclair for allowing their names to be put up for consideration.
“My hope is that we will find a way in the future to honour their work and their legacies,” Rahman said.
Trustees voted last June to remove the name “Ryerson” from the public school which is located in the Old North neighbourhood.
The decision came after parents asked for the name to be changed as its namesake, Egerton Ryerson, is considered to be one of the architects of the residential school system. The parents went to the school council on the matter following the discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children in unmarked graves at a former residential school site in Kamloops, B.C.
Trustees took the request a step further, launching a sweeping review of all building and facility names to ensure they reflect the board’s commitment to promoting human rights, equity, and inclusive learning environments for all students.
The board-wide review of school and facility names is to be completed by May.
