WHAT’S IN A ( SCHOOL) NAME?
The names of many Calgary schools pay tribute to local and international historical figures. But where do these names come from and what do they mean? Alex Frazer- Harrison looks into the history of five school names to find out their origins.
TOM BAINES SCHOOL
This Grade 7- 9 school in Edgemont honours Tom Baines ( 1901- 1994), the first curator of the Calgary Zoo who continued visiting local classrooms well into his later years.
“He’d walk in with this bag of tricks and cages with animals, artifacts … he got people turned onto knowing more about wildlife and preservation,” says principal Rick Petrowitsch.
Baines would often take along a 3.5- metre boa constrictor named Agnes — which is why the school’s sports teams are named the Boas. When the 2013 flood damaged the zoo, Grade 9 students agreed to donate their legacy fund for the year for repairs.
ST. ISABELLA SCHOOL
Some school names have international origins. This K- 8 school in Copperfield, which opened in 2012, is named for St. Isabella of Portugal ( 1271- 1336). The wife of King Denis of Portugal, she personally intervened on the battlefield to stop a war between her husband and her son.
In the early 14th century, after the king died, she gave up the trappings of royalty and devoted the remainder of her life to acts of charity and kindness. Shortly before her death, she intervened to prevent another war from breaking out between rival relatives.
WILLIAM D. PRATT SCHOOL
Currently under construction and due to open in 2016, this middle school will serve public students in Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak. William D. Pratt School is named for a prominent local builder whose work around the city includes Chinook Centre, McMahon Stadium and Scotiabank Saddledome.
Pratt ( 1928- 1999) also served as general manager of the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, as president and COO of the 1988 Winter Olympics and was one of the founders of the Trans Canada Trail Foundation. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1991.
FATHER JAMES WHELIHAN SCHOOL
Located in Sundance, this elementary/ junior high honours a Catholic priest who came to Calgary in 1933 and went on to be renowned for his work as a track and field coach, overseeing the football team at St. Mary’s High School and promoting the value of good sportsmanship during his 37- year- long career.
Whelihan ( 1902- 1986) served as the Calgary Catholic school system’s athletics director and was a member of the City of Calgary athletic board. He joined the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Order of Canada in 1985. Students today continue to follow Whelihan’s motto: “The best that we can be.”
STRATHCONATWEEDSMUIR SCHOOL
Strathcona School for Boys ( founded in 1929) and Tweedsmuir: An Academic School for Girls ( founded in 1958) merged in 1971 to form this independent school located just outside Calgary.
Strathcona comes from Donald Alexander Smith, Lord Strathcona ( 1820- 1914), an early Canadian political figure and business leader known for shaping the Canadian Pacific Railroad, establishing the Lord Strathcona’s Horse and negotiating with Louis Riel during the Red River Rebellion.
Tweedsmuir is named for John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir ( 18751940), who was Governor- General from 1935 to 1940, but was also a popular novelist who wrote The Thirty- Nine Steps, later adapted into an iconic Alfred Hitchcock film.