Coteau Hills Elementary School is the new name for the public half of the joint-use venue on South Hill, which Prairie South School Division chose from among more than 200 submissions.
Division administration revealed the new moniker during the March 5 board meeting, which included displaying an artist’s rendition of the school with its name attached on a giant TV screen.
When introducing the topic, board chairwoman Giselle Wilson acknowledged that the new name was “the most exciting (item) of the day.”
The division conducted a survey throughout February that was open to students, staff, families and residents who live on South Hill, explained Ron Purdy, superintendent of finance.
After receiving the suggestions, administration compiled a list — totalling almost seven pages — and narrowed that to one name, he said. It then presented the name to the committee of the whole, which reviewed the suggestion and gave its approval.
There were “some pretty funny” names that the partnerships and teambuilding committee received, while there were several duplicate recommendations for the Coteau Hills name, said trustee Crystal Froese, who chaired the naming project. While the committee talked about the different variations, this one kept rising to the top — so members submitted it for approval.
The Coteau Hills range is roughly eight million hectares (20 million acres) in size, stretching from Saskatchewan into North Dakota, while it’s noticeable — in the right light — south of the Moose Jaw as a blue outline, she continued.
Meanwhile, the area is ecologically important since migratory birds use it throughout the year, while it contains an important watershed with several creeks and rivers within it, Froese said.
“It is a pretty fascinating area to read about … ,” she stated. “I think it has a lot of significant importance, too, but probably the key one is that you can see (the hills) from that area.”
Coteau in English means hills, so the school is technically being called Hills Hills Elementary, Froese added. However, that’s OK since the name fits “quite well” for the location.
Board vice-chair Darcy Pryor thought it was exciting to be at this point in the project where trustees could approve the name of Prairie South’s half of the “brand-new, beautiful” joint-use school.
“This has been a long process to arrive at a name and a name we can be proud of,” she said. “It’s a good day.”
Trustees then officially approved a motion to adopt the Coteau Hills Elementary School name for the public side of the building.
School furniture
Constructing a new building means Prairie South and Holy Trinity Catholic School Division must fill it with furniture so students can learn effectively and staff have the necessary resources.
To that end, both agreed to “piggyback” onto a tender to acquire furniture that Regina Public Schools and Regina Catholic Schools completed for outfitting a new joint-use school in that community, a board report said. The tender is structured so other divisions can join — which is what Moose Jaw’s divisions have agreed to do to save money on purchases.
“The tenders are pretty competitive. And I don’t think there’s any way we can beat those prices,” said Purdy.
The next PSSD board meeting is Tuesday, April 9.
