LaSalle's new elementary school will be known as Legacy Oak Trail Public School.
Greater Essex County District School Board trustees made the decision at their Tuesday night meeting after receiving to two suggestions from the committee formed to name the school — the other recommendation being Heritage Woods Public School.
Principal Shawn Dufour was on the naming committee and says they settled on Legacy Oak Trail as the area is known for its dense forest areas.
"We decided that we wanted to look at the environment and there's lots of oaks in Carolinian forests. So we thought that could tie into the school nicely and we wanted to create a strong, powerful word and legacy is very powerful. When you build a new school, we're looking at 75-years or so, so we're hoping to be able to establish a legacy for LaSalle," he says.
Dufour says there's potential for the school to have its own trail system and oak tree forest.
"There's a possibility to maybe working with someone like ERCA {Essex Region Conservation Authority} or maybe even the Town of LaSalle, because they do have their public works there and building that oak forest or oak trail in our own backyard at the school," he says. "A nice walking path for students and some seating areas and that sort of thing would be a good development for the school."
The committee selected to choose the name for the new Prince Andrew public school in LaSalle seen on November 19, 2019 (Photo by AM800's Zander Broeckel)
The new $9.2-million school will be located adjacent to the Vollmer Complex on Laurier Parkway. It will replace the current Prince Andrew Public School on Kelly Rd.
Dufour says with a name to work with, the real fun now begins.
"The process now goes into choosing a school mascot, choosing school colours and that's turned over to the school community," he says. "So I will lead some discussions with students, lead some discussions with parents and then have some sort of surveys that go out to the community. Hopefully within the next couple of months we'll have a mascot and some school colours.
Legacy Oak Trail Public School is expected to open in the winter of 2021.