Voting open for SJAM school renaming
Posted Feb 23, 2022 01:00:00 PM.
Students and staff at the school formerly known as Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary in Waterloo are heading to the polls.
The high school, located at 650 Laurelwood Drive, will be getting a new name.
The Waterloo Region District School Board Ad Hoc School Naming Review Committee decided the school's name doesn't align with some of the board's values of anti-oppression, Indigenous rights, and equitable and inclusive education.
A post on the school's website said the renaming is “a step in our Reconciliation journey.”
The former prime minister's legacy has been denounced after recent findings of children's remains in mass graves at former residential schools.
Macdonald's policies created residential schools across Canada.
Last month, submissions were collected from residents. The five finalists are:
- Creekside Secondary School
- Headwaters Secondary School
- Laurel Heights Secondary School
- North West Secondary School
- Sugar Maple Secondary School
Students and staff have until Saturday, February 26 to weigh in through a form on the high school's website.
Then, it's up to the school board to choose from the top three names.
