Bishop Grandin High School to be renamed: CCSD
Posted Jun 28, 2021 11:29 am.
Last Updated Jun 28, 2021 8:57 pm.
CALGARY – A Calgary high school will be changing its name in the wake of recent discoveries of unmarked graves at sites of former residential school sites.
The Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) has voted in favour of changing the name of its Bishop Grandin campus.
Vital-Justin Grandin was a prominent figure in the creation of residential schools.
The Calgary Catholic School District has passed a motion to replace the name of Bishop Grandin High School: pic.twitter.com/PHrWERsnwh
— Jeff Slack (@Jeffslack660) June 28, 2021
The CCSD says it spoke with Indigenous leaders, bishops, parents and students before coming to the decision.
The new name is expected to be chosen later this year.
“The Calgary Catholic School District is deeply sorry for the pain and trauma that this school name has brought to the community. Engaging stakeholders from the former Bishop Grandin School, to come up with a replacement name, will be our top priority,” said Chief Superintendent Dr. Bryan Szumlas in a release.
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“It is our hope that a replacement name will go to the Board of Trustees for their approval in late September or early October. Consultation takes time and we want to come up with a replacement name to help this community heal.”
For now, the CCSD says the school will be called Haysboro Catholic High School until a new name can be found.
Earlier this year, the Calgary Board of Education decided to change the name of one of its schools to distance itself from figures who played a hand in creating and tunning residential schools.
“Ultimately, I’m really pleased the Catholic School Board made the decision, they seemed to do so in the right way,” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi. “They talked to elders, they got some advice, they put a temporary name in place for now until they can properly rename the school with a proper ceremony. That all feels right to me.”
READ MORE: CBE changing Langevin school name back to Riverside
Sir Hector-Louis Langevin, for whom the CBE’s Riverside School was named, was one of the fathers of confederation and was involved in the development of Canada’s residential school system.
-with files from Jeff Slack
