Why do you want to rename the school?

    Over the next three years, we are making changes to the configuration of our schools in Cold Lake to deal with enrollment pressures. In September 2023, Cold Lake Middle School will become a grades 7-9 school.

    As part of preparing students for the new configuration, we asked them what we could do to ease their transition and make them feel welcome. One of the suggestions was to give them school a new name so that all students would feel included, regardless of what school they were attending previously. The students felt this was an important part of building a school community they can all identify with and build a sense of belonging for all students. 

    The students brainstormed names and voted for the ones they like best. The name that received the most votes was Cold Lake Junior High. They then made a formal request to the Board of Trustees to change the name of the school,

    What criteria does NLPS use for naming schools?

    Administrative Procedure 546 - Naming New Facilities outlines the process the Board needs to follow when naming a facility and some of the things to consider in selecting a name.

    "School and facility names are to be chosen which: 

    • Identify the community in which the school is located,
    • Identify the program offered within the facility (e.g. elementary, middle, high school), 
    • Recognize the contribution to education by an employee, resident or family associated with the local community, 
    • Honour the memory of a famous Albertan, 
    • Are named after a Canadian geographic or historic location, 
    • Reflect an environmental landscape, or 
    • Are a symbolic name representing cultures and/or beliefs of part or all of the community."