Ryerson Renaming Decision

Letter – Ryerson Renaming Decision June 2022

June 14, 2022

Dear students, families, staff and community members,

We are excited to announce that the Board of Trustees has made a unanimous decision to rename our school through an Indigenous-informed process that embraces ethical engagement, consultation with local Indigenous communities, and the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation.

Our school’s new name will be Kanétskare Elementary School.

Kanétskare (pronounced Ga-nét-sga-re) is a Mohawk term meaning “Bay or Inlet.” We are interpreting our school’s new name to mean “School by the Bay.”

You will begin to see this name in place of the name Ryerson.

Many consider Egerton Ryerson, our school’s former namesake, an architect of Canada’s residential school system that committed cultural genocide against Indigenous children and families.

For the renaming, we engaged Indigenous knowledge keepers to understand how the land has shaped human and natural activity on the school site, and to suggest potential names.

The Naming Circle of parents, staff and other partners engaged in deep discussion while reviewing all submissions and suggestions. This involved reviewing the guiding principles of the renaming process, to build a consensus decision on one name to submit to Trustees.

As a school team, we are honoured to have been part of a larger process as HWDSB reviews its School Naming Policy and ensures all school names our board’s mission, vision, values and the application of human rights, decolonization, anti-racism and anti-oppression principles.

We want our next steps to involve those who have helped contribute to this important process. We will soon begin to celebrate our new name, with a new logo and identity shaped by our community.

Thank you for joining us on this journey. If you have any questions, please reach out.

Sincerely,

Mark Hopkins
Principal