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The Brampton Guardian
New school year brings new schools to Brampton
Wednesday September 3 2008
ROGER BELGRAVE
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board began the 2008/2009 school year with the opening of a new Brampton elementary school.

St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic Elementary School, located at 430 Van Kirk Dr., opened it doors to students Tuesday morning. Staff and students celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The school, in the in the Wanless Drive and McLaughlin Road area, is designed to accommodate up to 450 students from junior kindergarten to Grade 8.

The opening brings the number of Dufferin-Peel Catholic schools to 145, including 122 elementary and 23 secondary. An estimated 88,000 will be enrolled in schools this year.
The 2008/20009 school year will also mark the 40th anniversary of the creation of a consolidated Catholic school board in Peel Region/Dufferin County.

When the Dufferin-Peel County Roman Catholic Separate School Board was formed in January 1969 through the amalgamation of the Mississauga, Albion, Bolton/Wildfield, Brampton, Chinguacousy, Orangeville, Port Credit and Streetsville Catholic boards just 8,000 students and 27 elementary schools existed.

The board is planning to mark the anniversary with a number of commemorative events and activities throughout the school year.

“We begin the new school year in a positive financial position with much to celebrate and a number of exciting new initiatives to look forward to, including a pilot French immersion program starting in Grade 1 at St. Margaret of Scotland School in Mississauga and St. Joachim School in Brampton,” said Education Director John Kostoff.

The board will also open the new site for Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary School at 115 Glenvale Blvd. in the Bramalea Road and Queen Street area.

The board’s all-girls school has been relocated from Mississauga and was expected to welcome more than 700 students Tuesday morning. The girls are moving into completely renovated facilities at the board owned property previously used as a holding site for schools awaiting construction of new accommodations.

Principal Silvana Gos and Vice-principal Rita Borg were excited about the location that includes newly renovated and created classrooms, labs, music space and a full gymnasium. The school is still accepting enrolments.

In addition to these school openings, the board has begun construction on two new secondary schools in Brampton, St. Roch Catholic Secondary School and Cardinal Ambrozic Catholic Secondary School are both slated to open in September 2009.

“This is a historic year for us and we pride ourselves on our rich history of Catholic education in the region, not just for the past 40 years, but dating back to the 1860s,” said Kostoff. “It is in this long tradition of excellence in Catholic education that we welcome all new and returning students and families to our schools.”

The Peel District School Board is scheduled to open five new schools in the 2008/2009 school year. Four of them are in Brampton.
Sir William Gage Middle School opened Tuesday, at 625 Queen St. in the McLaughlin Road and Queen Street area, with a projected enrolment of 615 students. 

Construction delays has several other schools slated to open doors later in the year, while students are temporarily accommodated at other locations.

Carberry Public School, 526 Fernforest Drive, is a grade Kindergarten to Grade 5 school with projected enrolment of  273 students. All students, including French Immersion students, will be held at Springdale Public School, located at 100 Dewside Dr., until construction is completed.

Castlemore Public School, 9916 The Gore Road, is a replacement Kindergarten to Grade 6 school, with a projected enrolment of 372 students. Castlemore will operate as a school at two temporary locations until the building is completed.
Kindergarten to Grade 5 students will be held at Claireville Public School, located at 97 Gallucci Cres. Grade 6 students will be held at Thorndale Public School, located at 133
Thorndale Rd.

Copeland Public School, at 5 Young Dr. is a kindergarten to Grade 5 school with projected enrolment of 365 students. Copeland will temporarily operate all classes, including French Immersion, at Queen Street Public School, located at 635 Queen St.

The board is expecting to welcome more than 150,000 students to 235 schools this year, including 199 elementary and 36 secondary schools. Administrators are projecting more than 105,000 elementary school students and 44,000 high school students will be in classes this year.

More than 270 new teachers were hired to help handle the enrolment increases and replace retired teachers.