New schools named for flag founder and faith leaders
A historian who designed a red and white flag, simple enough so that children could draw it, will be honoured in the naming of a new Calgary school.
Dr. George Stanley School will be the name of the new middle school in Cranston, the Calgary Board of Education announced Friday. The school, which is slated to open in January 2017, will serve students in Grades 4-8.
Born in Calgary in 1907, Stanley was a historian and professor with a passion for the West and an appreciation of the military. He attended the University of Alberta and, later, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He went on to teach at colleges and universities and after retiring was appointed Lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick. He was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1994.
When the federal government began looking for a design for a new Canadian flag in 1964, Stanley wrote to the committee in charge. He lobbied for a simple, clean design that would be easy for children to draw. He included a sketch that was unanimously approved by the committee and became the basis for the flag that flies across the country today.
On Friday, the Calgary Catholic School District also released the names of four new schools opening in the fall, going with a saint and other faith-based titles.
St. Marguerite will be a K-6 school in New Brighton. St. Marguerite Bourgeoys was the French founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame in Montreal and was canonized in 1982.
The Evanston K-9 will be called Our Lady of Grace School, the Cranston K-6 will be Our Lady of the Rosary School and the K-9 in Auburn Bay will be named Prince of Peace School.