New school board name focused on future
“Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir,” students of JeanVanier secondary school in Welland shouted on Wednesday morning.
It’s the new name for the French Catholic school board, putting the old name Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud in the past as the new name aptly looks to the future.
Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir translates to My Future Catholic School Board.
“It means the future, inclusivity,” said Christine Côté, director of student services for the school board during the celebrations.
“We want to be open to the world and we want to be open to the 21st century and give our students the skills they will need to be able to grow up and be part of the world.”
She said the board itself has been around since 1998, but that this is the first time it has gotten a name change.
All of Jean-Vanier’s students took a break from morning classes to gather for the announcement in sort of a party-style gathering.
The new name was announced under blasts of confetti, and then T-shirts were thrown into the crowd. Cardboard cutout frames were passed around for social media photos.
Speakers and a video shared how the new name reflects the student population and the language and cultural blend the board has.
Benoit Mercier, executive director of the Association francoontarienne des conseils scolaires catholiques — which represents all French Catholic school boards across the province — said no matter what kind of French background you have, the culture is the same, noting in particular that French are an animated and proud people.
He said the newness of MonAvenir gives the board the opportunity to continue to grow that culture into the future.
Côté called it a big leap forward.
It was a leap that each of the 59 schools across the board were taking together, according to the speakers. Each of the 16,500 students and 3,000 staff members under the school board were counting down the moments to when the new board name was announced.
Mercier said having a name that best represents them is important because doesn’t just represent the schools and the board, but the students and parents also identify with it.
Côté said the name was chosen through a process of speaking with the students and everyone involved with the board to determine which name everyone thought would be the best fit. Although the school board covers about 40,000 square kilometres, Côté said social media definitely made the process easier.
Mercier said other French Catholic school boards in Ontario are considering name changes as well and some are already in the process of doing so.