Stoney Creek’s new Memorial school to be renamed South Meadow
Neighbourhood’s moniker prevails over Achievement and Battlefield Stoney Creek
Richard Leitner/Stoney Creek News
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Students at Stoney Creek’s Memorial and Mountain View elementary schools will be moving on from more than their old buildings when they take their seats in their replacement school in January.
The new school, built on Memorial’s rear field, will also bear a new name — South Meadow Elementary School.
Drawn from the name of the area’s neighbourhood, South Meadow was among three possible unranked choices put forth by a 22-member naming committee following a public survey in January and February.
It beat out Achievement and Battlefield Stoney Creek, the other finalists among 40 names suggested by the public.
Cam Galindo, the area’s trustee, said inventor Nikola Tesla was the most popular choice among the 736 people who offered names, with 214 supporters.
But he said the committee rejected it because there was no way to know where survey respondents live and Tesla has no connection to Stoney Creek while already having a former stretch of Burlington Street named after him.
Galindo said the committee, which included student, teacher, parent council and community members from Memorial and Mountain View, also wanted to move away from naming schools after people.
Trustees unanimously backed his recommendation to go with South Meadow at their Nov. 6 meeting, a decision to be ratified at their Nov. 23 board meeting.
Galindo said the committee considered names that combined Memorial and Mountain View but chose South Meadow because it’s neutral and reflects the neighbourhood’s name.
He said it questioned Battlefield Stoney Creek’s inappropriateness for a school, however important the 1813 skirmish it references was in turning back invading Americans during the War of 1812.
“Parents can use Battlefield as a short form and there’s something that doesn’t sound great about saying I’m sending my kid to the Battlefield,” Galindo said.
Ward 3 trustee Maria Felix Miller, who along with Galindo served as a non-voting member of the committee, said deliberations were respectful and sought a choice that is “elegant and positive and can really unite both (school) communities.”
“I will say that South Meadow is one that feels it can do all of those things while still being very specifically connected to the community itself,” she said.
Trustees also unanimously voted to stick with Greensville Elementary School as the name for the replacement school being built there, a choice that had overwhelming support during a similar consultation process. It’s also set to open in January.
Updated on Wednesday, November 11, 2020.