Roseland Public School

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Roseland Public School
Building Tomorrow Together!
Address
620 Cabana East
Windsor, Ontario, N9G 1A4, Canada
Information
School number 55
School board Greater Essex County District School Board
Superintendent Ms. Sharon Pyke
Area trustee Tom Kilpatrick, Dave Taves, Kevin Wilkinson
Principal Ms. Diane Beck
Chief custodian Mrs. P Scott, Mr. G Imeson
Staff 44
School type Coeducational public elementary school
Grades JK-8
Language English
Team name Roseland Rams
Enrollment 600

Roseland Public School is a public elementary school located in Windsor, Ontario. Founded in 1913, the school has been expanded repeatedly to meet the needs of a growing population. Roseland offers many academic, athletic, and community activities for both students and parents.

Contents

[edit] Early history

Originally proposed in 1913, Roseland Public school first opened in 1914 as a one-room schoolhouse with an enrollment of 25 students under the supervision of their teacher, Miss Alta Williams. As enrollment in the school grew, the demand for more classroom space became critical, and in 1925 a new two room school was constructed to replace the aging pre-war structure. In 1928, under the guidance of new principal Mrs. Olive Marcoux,[1] the school was expanded again, doubling in classroom space while adding a teacher's room, furnace, and male-female washrooms. [2]

Development of Roseland Public School was halted following the onset of the Second World War, and the fourth classroom was not staffed and furnished until 1940. Windsor expanded rapidly following the war,[2] and Roseland was expanded as well, as enrollment rose to 310 student by 1988. The school tripled in size, adding hallways, classrooms, principal's office, library and an infirmary. The library was named after the long-serving Mrs. Marcoux, who retired in 1969, after serving Roseland Public School for almost half a century.[2]

[edit] Recent history

During the 1990's and 2000's, a housing boom in Windsor lead to rapidly rising school enrollment.[2] In 2000, overcrowding had become so severe that approximately 260 Grade 8 students were moved to nearby Massey Secondary School.[3] By 2003, development projects were underway across the region to address the overcrowding problems. Roseland school's problems were specifically highlighted as an issue during consultations, as then-superintendent Penny Allen remarked:

“ "Roseland school is being totally overwhelmed by new development."[4] ”

In response, school trustees approved a $1.7 million addition to Roseland, which would add eight classrooms and an additional (fourth) hallway to the existing structure — original plans only called for six classrooms to be added, but population projections indicated the need for two more.[5] In addition, committees of students and parents identified the need for additional schools to be built in South Windsor to ease the burden on Roseland Public school and its sister schools.[6] These demands culminated in the 2005 announcement of Talbot Trail Public School,[7] which was constructed in a single year and opened in 2006 in which 228 of Roseland's students went to the new Talbot Trail Public School.[8][9]

Following the completion of construction, Roseland Public school was the subject of a pair of high-profile intruder incidents when, in 2007, a male suspect was spotted in the school in the early afternoon. After the first incident, police patrols were stepped up to protect students and deter the individual. However, two days later he returned, which triggered the school's safety lockdown procedures and provoked a police response. Worried teachers and parents commented that "This is something that you see on the news somewhere else. This stuff doesn't happen around here."[10] While the incident ended without harm, the school had earlier defended its reputation by filing a complaint against the The Windsor Star, for a 1994 article "Parents fear for children's safety at school", alleging that it left the erroneous impression that Roseland school was a "violent, threatening and unsafe environment [for students]". While the Star was commended for its publications on the issue of school violence, the Windsor Media Council found that the article was not balanced and inaccurate.[11]The man seen at the school is reported to have been seen before in the area,and may live at one of the few old trailers beside the field of the school.

[edit] Academics and athletics

Roseland Public School provides comprehensive instruction for students in kindergarten (junior and senior) to grade eight. In addition, they offer programs to teach, music, French, and physical education — as well as special education programs for students with disabilities or behavioral problems. The school's mathematics program has also been strong, sponsoring several teams which competed in the "math Olympics" for Ontario,[12] while an earlier team placed second in their division.[13] Roseland's English department has also produced award-winning work, including a 1991 first-place finish for poetry-writing in a Windsor-wide writing contest.[14] Athletically, Roseland offers many sports, including basketball, floor hockey, badminton and volleyball.

[edit] Non-academic and community programs

As part of the South Windsor community, Roseland Public School takes part in many social and community activities. As part of the Ontario Ministry of Education's "Healthy Schools" initiative, the school began healthy snack, bullying prevention, and physical activity programs, to promote health and wellbeing.[15] Roseland also takes part in many fundraising and community improvement activities, such as food and clothing drives,[16] tree planting,[17] and Earth Week celebrations.[18]

[edit] References

  1. ^ “Wants beatings reported”, The Globe and Mail: 12, 1964-05-08 
  2. ^ a b c d Oshar, Patti; Janet Andersen, Tom Fleming, Judy Hastings (2007-12-11). About our school - Roseland Public Schhol. Greater Essex County District School Board. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  3. ^ Thompson, Chris (2000-02-02), “Elementary kids high school bound; Parents angry board won't agree to look at alternatives”, The Windsor Star: A.3 
  4. ^ Danese, Roseann (2004-08-25), “Schools, other projects on track for completion”, The Windsor Star: A.5 
  5. ^ Danese, Roseann (2003-02-03), “Pupils' test scores average”, The Windsor Star: A.3 
  6. ^ Sacheli, Sarah (2002-05-08), “Schools bursting at seams”, The Windsor Star: A.3 
  7. ^ Bellavy, Emily (2007-06-17), “'One of a kind' school honoured”, The Windsor Star: A.3 
  8. ^ Chen, Dalson (2005-05-19), “New school for South Windsor: Elementary classes to begin in 2006”, The Windsor Star: A.3 
  9. ^ Pennington, Roberta (2005-06-18), “Public board breaks ground on new school”, The Windsor Star: A.5 
  10. ^ “Intruder seen at Roseland school”, The Windsor Star: A.2, 2007-11-05 
  11. ^ “Media body upholds teachers' complaint”, The Windsor Star: A.5, 1995-06-20 
  12. ^ Wilhelm, Trevor (2007-04-02), “Flexing math muscle”, The Windsor Star: A.4 
  13. ^ Macaluso, Grace (1996-06-22), “'Mathletes' driven to solve problems to win”, The Windsor Star: A.3 
  14. ^ “Poetry Contest Winners: Young writers show insight”, The Windsor Star: F.1, 1991-06-08 
  15. ^ Healthy Schools - Roseland Public School. Ontario Ministry of Education (2007-03-26). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  16. ^ “Teamsters ladies keep seniors warm this winter”, The Windsor Star: A.5, 2005-12-21 
  17. ^ Thompson, Chris (2006-10-28), “Tree planting honours loved teacher”, The Windsor Star: A.2 
  18. ^ Schmidt, Doug (1997-04-23), “Earth Week: Nature reclaiming school space”, The Windsor Star: A.4 

[edit] External links