By Tracy Forsyth and Kathryn Stocks
One of this area’s earliest schools was S.S. 11, a one-room fieldstone school on Port Union Rd. that was erected in 1860. In 1937, the property was bought by the Department of Highways to make way for Highway 2A, but then the Second World War happened and the stone school wasn’t demolished until 1946.
Centennial Rd. Public School
Centennial Rd. Public School replaced S.S. 11 and was the first of many schools built after the war. It opened on October 11, 1946, and since then it has had several renovations and additions. The chimney has three carved motifs illustrating children reading, writing and doing arithmetic, a trademark of the architect Murray Brown & Elton.
Many in this community think that Centennial Rd. and the school were named for Canada’s 100th anniversary. But they weren’t. The street and school were named after Centennial Methodist Church at Kingston Road and Centennial Road North, which was built in 1891 and commemorated the 100th anniversary of the death of John Wesley, the founder of their religion.
Charlottetown Public School
With the subdivision that was being built in 1967 in the Lawson/Lawrence/Port Union/Centennial area, there was a need for another elementary school. Planning and construction of Charlottetown Public School took place in 1967 while Canada was celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The school opened its doors during the 1968-69 school year. The school and many of the surrounding streets were named in honour of those who attended the 1864 Charlottetown Conference, the first in a series of meetings that led to Confederation.
The Kindergarten to Grade 8 school had 13 classrooms and a modern library resource centre. Eight additional classrooms and a second gymnasium were added in 1971 to accommodate the growing community.
St. Brendan Catholic School
St. Brendan opened its doors in 1972 in a portable building at 186 Centennial Road. A permanent school was finished in 1974. It was the first school in the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) east of the Highland Creek Bridge and the first school in St. Joseph’s Parish. It accommodated students from Kindergarten to Grade 8.
During the 1970s and ’80s, when subdivision development took place in the Pepper Tree/Holmcrest/Cherry Hill area and on the Watson’s Orchard lands, many portable classrooms were added as enrollment increased.
Joseph Howe Senior Public School
Joseph Howe Sr. Public opened on Winter Gardens Trail in West Rouge in 1978 for students in Grades 7 and 8. When that happened, Centennial and Charlottetown became junior public schools serving students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6. Other feeder schools for Howe include West Rouge and William G. Davis.
Saint-Michel
École élémentaire catholique Saint-Michel (Saint-Michel Catholic Elementary School) opened its doors in 2013 to provide French-language education for children from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6. It is located at 29 Meadowvale Rd. Students come to Saint-Michel from across a large area since there are only 48 elementary schools in Ontario in the Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir.
Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate
By Mikayla Haswell
Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate Institute opened its doors in April 1971. Planning for the school started in 1964, with the original name of Centennial Collegiate Institute proposed. It was built in 1969 and the first students came in September 1970. The school was eventually named after the former premier of Ontario, Oliver Mowat, who held the office for 24 years from 1872 to 1896.
Going forward in the ’70s, Mowat had growing school spirit with lots of sports, clubs and trips, and students and teachers had political opinions on the Vietnam war, the hippie movement, women’s liberation, civil rights and other movements that were going on at the time.
The first principal was Mr. Horwood, who said In the principal’s message in May 1972, that he would “continue to stress the importance of academic standards and competition” at Mowat. This went against progressive thinking at the time that said students would learn better at their own pace, which is really what guides the school now.
The ’80s was a great time to be at Mowat with good team spirit and amazing sports teams. The SAC student association, representing student interests, started to be very active, along with clubs like the science and math clubs. Two brothers, Jim and Andy Creeggan, who went on to join the Barenaked Ladies, went to Mowat in the late ’80s.
In the ’90s, Mowat was spreading more awareness about the ecosystem, talking about natural disasters going on in the world, and how countries are affected by other countries’ eco-choices. Mowat students showed concern for the environment. The school did a good job of promoting social justice, visual arts, art and creative writing.
Today Mowat has many supports for students struggling with mental health and learning disabilities. The teachers at Mowat try to make sure that every student is heard and seen, with lots of clubs that everyone can be a part of.
Over the years, Mowat has tried its best to teach us about different ethnic backgrounds with culture fairs serving delicious food. We are also learning about our Indigenous peoples’ history by hearing from survivors of residential schools.
The new principal of Mowat, Andrea Cross, said that Mowat is a wonderful school, in a beautiful area. And she felt welcomed by the staff and students.
Mikayla Haswell is a Mowat student who will be writing for Centennial News this school year.